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Introduction

As part of my research on domestic violence, I have investigated ways in which feminist theory has impacted American culture's views on women and domestic violence over the last twenty-five years, from the second wave of feminism to the present. I have relyed heavily on texts by Jalna Hanmer and Catherine Itzin; Home truths about domestic violence: Feminist influences on policy and practice a reader and Cynthia R. Daniels; Feminists Negotiate the State: The Politics of Dopmestic Violence.This paper will address the impact that feminist theory has had on domestic violence and how it has affected social views and public policy over the last twenty-five years. A good place to start is with a definition of feminist, feminism, and feminist theory and what constitutes domestic violence. These definitions will lay the groundwork for the rest of this discussion.

[b]ell [h]ooks is an intellectual and a scholar teaching at the City College of New York, defines feminism as both "feminism is a movement to end sexism" (1) and "a movement to end sexual oppression" (4). Sexism refers to gender discrimination where sexual oppression involves what Hooks refers to as "power gained through the exploitation and oppression of others" (4). Unlike Ermarth, though Hooks does not see men as the enemy. She sees sexism and sexual oppression as the issue (1). Feminism is basically a movement towards gender equality on all levels. Within this movement, however, are sub-levels of feminism dealing with race. For instance, African American and Hispanic women are faced with different issues than white women. They are double minorities, minorities by race as well as gender/sex. Hooks discusses sub-categories of feminism that deal with religion and politics such as contemporary feminism: women who are no longer anti-male (2); reformist feminism: women focused on equality with men in the workforce (3); and lifestyle feminism: women who "ushered in the notion that there could be as many versions of feminism as there were women" (3).

Barbara Kruger, a feminist artist, defines feminist theory as "a diverse group of perspectives examining the treatment of women in societies" (Feminist Theory Page). Ermarth breaks theory into two sub-categories, constructive and subversive theory (116). She explains constructive theory as "theory that creates alternatives, models, structures, programs and legislation" but warns that constructive theory has been largely ineffective in changing anything; on the contrary, constructive theory has been the means by which women have joined the establishment either by becoming one of the boys or by creating ghettos of their own" (116). Subversive theory "acts to destabilize power relations rather than confirm them"; therefore it "has the power completely to readjust the system of gender relations: not overnight and not heroically through the efforts of a few conspicuous 'stars', but eventually and permenantly" (116).

Ermarth's definition of feminism is troublesome because she excludes men. The whole point of the feminist movement is equality among the sexes, not exclusion based on gender. Feminists cannot both insist on inclusion of women while at the same time demanding the exclusion of men and still be taken seriously. One demand is counter-productive to the other. Hooks, however, sees sexism and sexual oppression as wrong regardless of which gender is the victim. The next definition is even more complex than the previous definitions.

Defining domestic violence is not an easy task. Domestic violence is used interchangeably with terms such as battering, family violence and spousal abuse. The term domestic violence encompasses all these terms and includes mental/emotional abuse. Domestic violence advocates define domestic violence a little differently than legal statute. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines domestic violence, which NCADV refers to as battering, as the following:

A pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence. Battering happens when one person believes they are entitled to control another. Battering may include emotional abuse, economic abuse, sexual abuse, using children, threats, using male privilege, intimidation, isolation, and a variety of other behaviors used to maintain fear, intimidation and power. In all cultures, the perpetrators are most commonly the men of the family. Women are most commonly the victims of violence. Elder and child abuse are also prevalent. Acts of domestic violence generally fall into one or more of the following categories:

· Physical Battering - The abuser's physical attacks or aggressive behavior can range from bruising to murder.
· Sexual Abuse - Physical attack by the abuser is often accompanied by, or culminates in, sexual violence wherein the woman is forced to have sexual intercourse with her abuser or take part in unwanted sexual activity.
· Psychological Battering -The abuser's psychological or mental violence can include constant verbal abuse, harassment, excessive possessiveness, isolating the woman from friends and family, deprivation of physical and economic resources, and destruction of personal property. (NCADV Problems Page)

Georgia law defines domestic violence, which is referred to as family violence, as the following:

The occurrence of one or more of the following acts between past or present spouses, persons who are parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, or other persons living or formerly living in the same household:
(1) Any felony; or
(2) Commission of offenses of battery, simple battery, simple assault, assault, stalking, criminal damage to property, unlawful restraint, or criminal trespass. (GA Code Section 19-13-1)

The big difference between these two definitions is that Georgia Code does not address mental/emotional abuse. Domestic violence advocates acknowledge mental/emotional abuse as a valid form of abuse, often times more damaging than physical violence.

The first domestic violence shelter opened in England in 1970 and in the United States in 1971 (Felter 14). Susan Schechter argues that "in the early 1970's it seemed as if the issue of domestic violence came out of nowhere" (qtd. in Felter 14). Domestic violence did not really come out of nowhere it just was not recognized for what it is. During the 1940's and 50's terms such as "marital discord" and "marital disharmony" were used to describe domestic violence (Felter 13). These terms lead one to believe that the violence is no more than a minor disagreement or a marital spat.

Although the second wave feminist movement was underway throughout the 1960's, the issue of domestic violence had not yet come to the forefront. It was not until the 1970's that the battered women's movement, which included radical, lesbian, Marxist, and socialist feminists, started to pick up speed. Feminists in collaboration with social service professionals were successful in getting legislation passed, writing grants, and lobbying (Felter 15). Dobash and Dobash point out that "the movement did not confront battering behavior directly" but instead "used the courts and legislatures to increase the cost of battering (qtd. in Felter 15). In addition the federal government paid shelter salaries through the Concentrated Employment and Training Act and the Social Security Administration provided money by funding temporary housing for abused and neglected children (Felter15). Although these programs were just the beginning, by the late 70's the movement really started to gain momentum.

With the increase in awareness of domestic violence in the late 70's and 80's, the beginning of third wave feminism, came an increase in acts of domestic violence. As a result, women were not only using the court system but also getting caught up in the court system, often being re-victimized in the process. Re-victimization is usually a result of police arresting both the batterer and the victim when called to a domestic violence situation. Women were fighting back physically as well as legally. Their resistance has often resulted in the death of either the victim or the batterer. In 1979, according to Schuller and Vidmar, "battered women's syndrome" (BWS) was first introduced into the U. S. courts (qtd. in De Soto 54). Schuller and Vidmar go on to explain that "BWS is a descriptive term that refers to a pattern of responses and perceptions presumed to be characteristic of women who have been subjected to continuous physical abuse by their mate" (qtd. in De Soto 54).

Since 1980, BWS is recognized as a subtype of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (De Soto 54). Feminists prefer the term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because battered women's syndrome reinforces negative myths about the sickness or frailty of women (De Soto 58). Mahoney and Littleton insist that "BWS should be an argument for justification of homicide rather than as an excuse for homicide (qtd. in De Soto 59). This is the difference between self-defense and an insanity plea (De Soto 59).

What role has the federal government played in the domestic violence issue in response to growing pressure from the feminist movement? From 1977 to 1984, the federal government played a very small role. In 1979 President Jimmy Carter established the Office of Domestic Violence, which was closed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 (Brooks 68). The federal government started taking more of an interest in 1984 with the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, which provided grants to support shelters, counseling, and related services (Brooks 68). That same year the Victims of Crime Act was passed, which provides monetary aid to victims of crimes but gives priority to grants designed to assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse (Brooks 68). It was not until 1994 that the issue of domestic violence really started getting the attention that it deserved with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), introduced by Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del) was first introduced in 1990, but was not signed into law until September 1994 (Brooks 65). VAWA includes funding for a wide range of programs to alleviate the abuse of women and children (Brooks 76). These programs include funding for shelters, counseling, training for law enforcement and judges, DV hotlines, among many other programs (Brooks 76-77). The total cost of VAWA $1.62 billion dollars over six years (Brooks 76). By holding public office and through lobbying groups feminists have had a major impact on domestic violence laws and legislation. For example it is illegal to disclose the location of a domestic violence shelter. It is also illegal for anyone convicted of a felony count of domestic violence to own or possess a firearm and it is a federal offense to cross state lines for the purpose of committing acts of domestic violence.

Marital Rape/Dating Violence

Feminists have also increased social awareness of domestic violence with things such as using a purple ribbon to signify domestic violence and child abuse, designating the month of October as domestic violence awareness month, and in the last couple of years there has been a big media campaign of print advertisements and TV commercials encouraging battered women to get out of the violent situation. Using a variety of media sources to get the message out, the feminist movement has pushed the issue of domestic violence into the light of day . Domestic Violence is no longer a dirty little secret. Terms such as wife/marital rape, date/acquaintance rape, and courtship violence are just now starting to become part of our vocabulary and considered serious issues. Violence among dating teenagers is on the rise, but teenagers fall through the cracks, because they are minors and do not live with their abusive partner the domestic violence laws don't cover them.

There are, of course, laws for rape and assault, but the reality is that offenders under the age of eighteen are unlikely to receive much of a penalty for these types of offenses. The best protection is education starting at the secondary (high school) level for both males and females. Randy Page believes that preventing date rape starts "by teaching students to avoid potentially dangerous situations and how to respond in the event of a perpetration" (1). On the college level there are more legal avenues. In 1990 The Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act was passed (Griffaton 3). Griffaton explains that this Act "requires all colleges and universities, which receive federal funds or whose students receive federal funds, to report and disseminate campus crime statistics and campus security policies" (3), and "allows colleges and universities to disclose disciplinary outcomes to student victims" (11).

The issue of marital rape has also come under fire in the last twenty-five years. In the nineteenth century legally there was no such thing as marital rape because a woman was considered the property of her husband. In 1736 Lord Chief Justice Mathew Hale stated that "the husband cannot be guilty of rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimony consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract" (qtd. in Lees 57). Brownmiller gives the following definition of the marital exemption: "To our biblical forefathers any carnal knowledge outside the marriage contract was 'unlawful'. And any carnal knowledge within the marriage contract was, by definition, 'lawful'. Thus, as the law evolved, the idea that a husband could be prosecuted for raping his wife was unthinkable, for the law was conceived to protect his interests, not those of his wife" (qtd. in Lees).

The marital rape exemption was attacked during the first wave of feminism without any success. It was during the second wave of feminist that the marital rape exemption received its greatest challenge. Today "federal law no longer provides a marital exemption to the rape laws" (Shams 610). According to Shams "Some states still allow for partial exemptions; in these states, a spouse may only be prosecuted if the couple is separated in some way. Other states exempt a husband or co-habitor from lower degrees of rape but do not exempt a husband or co-habitor from higher degrees of rape. A few states provide a partial exemption by permitting a husband to be charged only for certain varieties of rape, e.g., rape by force. No states currently provide an absolute exemption based solely on the legality of marriage" (622).

Marital rape always happens in conjunction with domestic violence whether the rape is through physical force or coercion, both of which are forms of domestic violence. Date or acquaintance rape and violence are different. Although, date rape is committed by someone the victim knows, because victims are not related to or have never co-habitated with the offender the offense does not fall under the domestic violence laws.

Domestic Violence Shelters

Domestic violence shelters address both types of violence. The emergence of domestic violence shelters began in the 1970's and adopted empowerment ideologies. There are now over 1000 shelters in the United States. Kathleen Donaghy explains that the empowerment ideologies "have become largely obscured in some shelters because of bureaucratic organizations that now support those shelters. As a result, the shelter movement is currently in transition" (1). Susan Murray believes that the problem with domestic violence shelters is that "shelters are a response to the problem of violence against women in our society, not a solution" (75).

Donaghy goes further by describing different types of shelters and their purpose. The types of shelters include grassroots feminist shelters and coapted shelters and these two types of shelters can be broken down even further into first and second stage shelters. Grassroots feminist shelters "resist government backing in the interest of retaining ideological control, (whose primary interest is societal change)" (Donaghy 2). Coapted shelters "primarily concern themselves with individual change and assisting residents in reintegrating themselves into society" (2). First stage shelters "focus on short-term, immediate care" while second stage shelters "focus on integrating women into society after they have left their batterers" (2).

Feminists feel that empowerment is missing from shelters today, which is why they prefer grassroots approach. There is no government bureaucracy to contend with. Their biggest complaint, Davis points out, is that shelters receiving government backing "have undergone reorganization that, over time, has resulted in the formulation of a hierarchical, top-down decision making process" (qtd. in Donaghy 2). While this process has made the shelters more efficient, feminists argue that "overall services have been rendered less effective because clients themselves are placed at the bottom of that hierarchy" (Donaghy 2). The grassroots feminist shelters are not without problems. Because they do not have government backing, salaries are lower then other shelters and the programs offered to residents are at a minimum. The problem with this is that victims are sometimes short-changed on services.

More and more shelters are moving away from being reactive to being proactive with the development of the wellness model. Donaghy explains this model as "a growth process model from which one may assess a woman's transition from victim to survivor" (3). The wellness model goes beyond the medical or physical needs; it also addresses social, (Donaghy 4) occupational, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional needs (Donaghy 5). All of these dimensions have an effect on a person's health and well being and to address just one or two of these dimensions in ineffective in treating the person.

Today shelters have a combination of approaches and programs to help empower victims of domestic violence. The advantage of the wellness model is that it is preventative instead of reactive. With the wellness model "not only can a person's enhanced well-being work to reduce the chance for future incidents [of domestic violence], but empowerment arising from a sense of enhanced personal wellness can serve to reduce the chance that women will be placed in a position of economic or emotional vulnerability in the first place" (Donaghy 4).

According to Donaghy there are six wellness dimensions. The social dimension involves "the development of social intimacy or connectedness with family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances with which one can rely on for support and interdependency in one's daily functioning" (4). The occupational and career dimension involves "past and present vocational experiences and skills accrued, a level of satisfaction attained during the period of employment, and salary level attained" (5). The spiritual dimension can be expressed "within the tradition and structure of a church setting, or experienced through an engagement with nature, in a moment of quiet contemplation, or while engaging in day-to-day activity" (5). The physical dimension involves "behaviors and factors that directly and indirectly affect physical health such as types and levels of exercise, nutrition, alcohol and other drug abuse, stress levels" (5). The intellectual dimension involves "formal or informal means toward knowledge and enlightenment" (6). The emotional dimension involves "the ability to own and express one's emotions in a healthy manner" (6).

Social Services

All of these dimensions have an effect on a person's health and well being and to address just one or two of these dimensions is ineffective in treating the person. Shelters wanting to incorporate the wellness model should "conduct a holistic appraisal of a resident's wellness within each of the six dimensions during intake and should also identify the women's short- and long-term goals" (qtd. in Donaghy 6). This model is a model of prevention and intervention not just a reactionary response. Most shelters are moving in this direction and through working with other social service agencies shelters are able to address underlying problems that contribute to domestic violence rather than just reacting to situations of immediate danger.

Since shelters cannot do everything it is important to network in the community so that a combination of agencies with various services can work together to meet the needs of domestic violence victims. To implement this wellness model required that domestic violence shelters work with other social service agencies such as Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS), The Houston Drug Action Council (HODAC), public housing authorities, counseling centers, and health departments.

For example, DFCS has established a partnership between them and local domestic violence shelters to help identify victims of domestic violence to ensure victims are made aware of their options. This partnership involves a Domestic Violence/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Assessor who acts as a liaison between the domestic violence victim, DFCS, and the shelter. According to the Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV) "Domestic Violence Assessors are responsible for assessing TANF (the new welfare system) recipients and applicants for their eligibility for the Family Violence Option. This Option allows for the waiver of certain requirements that might otherwise prevent domestic violence victims from public assistance" (PADV Positive Life Change Page).

PADV also explains the SUCCEED Program, which works in conjunction with the TANF program and is a "transitional assistance program designed to assist battered women to gain independence from their abusers, to live violence-free, and to re-establish themselves in their communities, by providing financial assistance for rent, utilities, childcare, transportation, moving expenses and educational opportunities, on a graduated scale for up to twelve months" (PADV Positive Life Change Page).

Public Housing Authorities sometimes give preferences to domestic violence victims, which moves victims up on housing lists, providing that the shelters help victims pay the first months rent. Many health departments and wellness centers provide the services of medical personnel to actually go to the shelters for those victims that may be unable to go to them and to protect a victim's safety. Counseling centers offer free counseling and there are many support groups.

There is a downside, however. The funding for social service programs fluctuates and there is never enough money to go around. Funding is increased one year and is cut the next. Competition for grant money is fierce and as money gets tighter social services start disappearing. None of this would exist without the feminist movement. It was the feminists that pointed out the connection between these different issues and the need to address these issues.

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