Violence Against Women

Increased attention to the problem of domestic violence has brought with it a swell in the number of cases entering the court system. Particularly when resources are limited, it is critical to assess the dangerousness of such cases. This preliminary study attempted to add to the knowledge base about risk factors for continued abuse among batterers who have been arrested for domestic assault. Specifically, we investigated the predictive power of the level of psychological abuse in the relationship. Results suggest that psychological abuse—in particular, dominance and isolation—may be a useful variable in assessing dangerousness.

Men recruited for a multisite batterer program evaluation were asked how they avoided violence at each 3-month follow-up interval over a 15-month period (n = 443), and later asked how their sense of women and being a man had changed (n = 120). More than half (53%) of the men reported relying on interruption methods, 19% on discussion, and 5% on respect of women at 3 months after intake. These percentages remained constant over the 15-month follow-up period. A fifth of the men reported positive changes in their attitudes toward women, and more than a third changed to a “great extent,” according to their female partners. Men in the longer programs were more likely to use discussion or respect methods and to have changed to a great extent.

This article theorizes the intersections between domestic violence and divorce. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Israel, including 49 interviews with battered women who found getting and/or being divorced difficult and dangerous, the author examined battered women's accounts of their experiences of the pluralistic and segregated family law system. She concludes that for battered women in Israel (Palestinians and Jews alike) the divorce process may be understood as part of or an extension of men's battering. With this analysis, the author illustrates the need to conduct locally specific, integrated domestic violence and divorce research.

A peer education program emphasizing male responsibility in decreasing sexual assault led to a decrease in rape tolerant attitudes among high school students immediately following a 45-minute presentation. Trained high school students presented information on sexual assault risk reduction, rape culture, sexual assault law, how to help a friend who has been assaulted, and male responsibility in preventing sexual assault. Whereas the scores of female students showed less acceptance of rape myths and victim-blaming attitudes than males at both pretest and posttest, the attitudes of male students showed more improvement following the presentation than those of the females.

This article examines the role “in-house” victim advocates have played in the struggle to curb violence against women on college campuses. It uses the case study model to place the discussion about feminist strategies in higher education within a larger, historical context of second-wave feminist movements and negotiations between grassroots protest movements and institutional powers. The article analyzes both the new opportunities that the campus feminist movement has opened for women and how it falls short of its original goals and suggests “feminist survival strategies” in the post-second wave U.S. context.