In my work with survivor support agencies and batterer intervention programs, I have established one prison-based and two community-based programs for women of diverse ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds who have used force against their partners. These experiences have informed my belief that “women’s violence,” as Straus refers to it, must be interpreted in the broader context of the relationship. When evaluating this violence in context, women’s use of force against intimate male partners may be more accurately characterized as resistive and self-defensive, as opposed to the “mutual combat” Straus suggests. In my experience, from women’s first call for an intake assessment in community-based programs, they often take complete responsibility for what has happened and, in many cases, also take responsibility for
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1077-8012 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077801215575638 ID - ref1 ER -