Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Lobbying for mandatory-arrest policies: race, class, and the politics of the battered women's movement
Other Titles:	Review of law and social change
Authors:	Fedders, Barbara
Keywords:	Cross-cultural;CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse);Criminal justice responses;Policing
Year:	1997
Publisher:	New York University Press
Citation:	23 (2)
Notes:	Variant Title: New York University review of law and social change Variant Title: New York University review of law & social change Provides a critical analysis within a US context of mandatory arrest policies for perpetrators of domestic violence with particular emphasis on the ways in which such policies can minimise the significance of race and class, placing marginalised groups of women at an even greater disadvantage. In part one, the development of the battered women’s movement is discussed and some of the difficulties encountered by researchers in this area are identified. The development of the movement’s support for mandatory arrest, its impetus and rational, is then examined and subsequent criminological studies refuting this rationale are highlighted. It is argued that although the battered women’s movement may view mandatory arrest as symbolic of State support for their cause, this is of little value to women whose only experiences of the State have been of violence and repression. Concludes by summarising some of the costs and benefits of essentialism within the battered women’s movement – while significant legislative change has been achieved, the experiences and needs of low-income, non-Anglo Saxon women have been minimised and marginalised. Asserts that if responses to domestic violence are to meet the needs of particular communities, we must move beyond universalising the problem, towards more inclusive process which seek the input and participation of women from a variety of backgrounds.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/15660
ISSN:	487481
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

Items in ANROWS library are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.