NCJ Number
227193
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 15 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 656-677
Date Published
June 2009
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This paper examined the current status of the battered women's movement entering its fourth decade.
Abstract
Investigation into the current status of the domestic violence movement found a movement facing multiple challenges as well as new opportunities. The most serious measure of the tenuousness of the movement at the local level was the wide range of current advocates who were unable to speak explicitly to questions about the movement at all. Also concerning was the myriad of dilemmas facing the movement, including the pressures of meeting funding requirements, collaborating with a wide variety of community partners, and expanding victim services while maintaining a movement philosophy. However, movement veterans brought renewed vision about how to reenergize the movement and allow it to take a new form, one that responds to current demands with new strategies. The findings point to a movement rapidly shifting into the exclusive role of social service provider and moving increasingly away from a larger social change agenda. The domestic violence movement began as a social change movement with dual goals of social change and service provision. However, few studies have investigated the current status of the movement as a social change movement. Through interviews with advocates, this study explored the degree to which domestic violence work could still be characterized as a social change movement, illuminated some central tensions within the movement, and laid a foundation for debate among those responding to domestic violence. Note and references