Type:	Journal Article
Title:	The exit myth: family law, gender roles, and changing attitudes toward female victims of domestic violence
Other Titles:	Michigan Journal of Gender and Law
Authors:	Ramsey, Carolyn B
Keywords:	Community attitudes;Criminal justice responses;Representations of women;Policing
Year:	2013
Publisher:	University of Michigan Law School
Citation:	20 (1), 2013
Notes:	The author examines the legal history of intimate partner violence in the United States. She argues that until approximately the 1920s, the criminal justice system intervened more aggressively in cases of domestic violence than it did later in the twentieth century, with police responding to calls for help and courts routinely forcing violent men to pay fines or spend time in prison for beating their wives. The author suggests that the attitude of police and courts shifted in the middle twentieth century, to become less sympathetic to domestic violence victims, and more apathetic in their policing of domestic violence. She argues that the reason for this shift in attitude in the mid-twentieth century was fourfold: women’s enfranchisement and calls for greater autonomy; easier access to divorce; increasing participation in the paid workforce; and the popularisation of psychological theories linking intimate partner abuse to female masochism. In combination, these factors gave rise to the ‘exit myth’; the idea that women could safely leave an abusive marriage. In the author’s view, however, these factors masked continuing impediments to women leaving a violent relationship, such as legislative requirements for joint-custody of children (which allows perpetrators to continue to exercise control over an ex-spouse even after a divorce ), and lower salary and job prospects than men (which affects women’s ability to support themselves and their children).
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12611
ISSN:	1095-8835
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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