The Power to Name: Conceptualizing Domestic Violence as Violence Against Women

Abstract

Since the early 1970s, feminist researchers and advocates have identified violence against wives or female partners as a serious and pervasive social issue, resulting in changes to housing, social services, and legal reforms. Recently, some family violence researchers, sociologists, and men’s activists have challenged feminist claims that women are the primary victims of intimate partner violence; citing numerous studies that suggest men are frequently victims of violence by their female intimate partners and arguing that, because of symmetrical prevalence rates found in numerous studies, violence occurring within intimate relationships represents “mutual combat” and should be conceptualized as gender-neutral. Feminist researchers and women activists oppose gender-neutral conceptualizations and argue that violence is indeed gendered; and issues of context, meaning, and consequences should be examined before making claims of gender symmetry. They contend that the issue should be gender specific and should be viewed as “violence against women”, instead of more gender-neutral conceptualizations as “domestic violence” or “spousal abuse’. Not surprisingly, a heated debated has erupted among researchers, policymakers, and community activists about the gendered nature of intimate partner violence. Specifically, the debate centers on the rate of women’s use of violence against their intimate partners and the degree of harm inflicted by women. This debate about the gendered nature of intimate partner violence will be examined. I conclude by suggesting that a feminist and gender-specific theoretical framework is most useful in understanding heterosexual intimate partner violence.