Contact: Christie Hobbs
Phone: (202) 349-5889
WASHINGTON, DC — The Independent Women’s Forum has released a new study examining the complex issues surrounding domestic violence.
“The feminist movement has done a lot of admirable work to raise public consciousness about the problem of domestic violence,” says Cathy Young, author of the study.
“Unfortunately,” Young continues, “it has often done so from a limited and one-sided point of view. We need to consider other ideas, other perspectives from social science, psychology, and clinical practice. Even many feminists who work in the field with domestic violence victims and perpetrators have started to admit that feminist theory does not always fit the reality.”
Authored by Young, “Domestic Violence: An In-Depth Analysis” calls attention to the many troubling aspects of domestic violence that are rarely considered, especially on the public policy level: cases in which punitive intervention may not work; cases in which there is mutual violence; family violence committed by women; and violence in gay and lesbian couples. “Without abandoning our commitment to combating violence against women, we need to start addressing those other aspects of the problem as well,” says Young.
“Domestic Violence: An In-Depth Analysis” provides a historical perspective to the issue of domestic violence in addition to exposing some of the problems inherent in traditional approaches to issue and highlighting steps that could bring us closer to solutions.
“Absolutely, domestic violence should be taken seriously. But public policies based on one-size-fits all solutions are ill-suited for the complexity of the problem.”