This book reflects on the problem of domestic violence by thinking critically about policy and practice responses. Moving beyond accounts of men’s violence embedded in metaphors of ‘good’ and ‘bad men’, or as the expressions of particular structures and practices, it initiates challenging conversations concerning the ways in which our embeddedness in gendered discourses shapes the responses that we imagine are possible and desirable.
Innovative in its embrace of feminist poststructural theorising to both challenge and enrich responses to men’s use of domestic violence, each chapter is dedicated to exploring a particular area of tension, unpicking the tangles and knots of complexity that characterise much domestic violence policy and practice. Case studies ground the chapters, providing a focus for thinking through the dilemmas, challenges, and contested nature of ideas, meanings, and practices in this space. Rather than presenting easy answers, each chapter provides a forum for the exploration of ambiguity and complexity – to acknowledge the discomfort and sit with this, not rush to resolve it. Situated within this contested, uncomfortable terrain, this book presents a small – but important – step towards a reimagining of the ways in which we think about and respond to domestic violence.
It will be of interest to scholars and students of gender studies, sociology, health, and social care.
Author(s): Kate Seymour, Sarah Wendt, Kristin Natalier
Series: Routledge Advances in Health and Social Policy
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 137
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
What do we mean by difficult conversations?
The problem of domestic and family violence
The lens of poststructuralism
The tools of feminist poststructuralism
A note on terminology
Who are we?
Overview of the book
2 Violence and vulnerability: Who does what to whom?
Gender, violence, and vulnerability
Intersectional vulnerabilities
Violence, trauma, and ‘intergenerational transmission’
From boys …
… to men
Power, vulnerability, and agency
Conclusion
3 Perpetrators and accountability: Invisible or ignored?
Accountability
Perpetrator visibility
Parenting and protection
The ‘individualising gaze’
Conclusion
4 Men’s change: Who is doing the work?
Intervening in DFV
Invisible work
Emotional labour as (gendered) edgework
Women’s edgework: Navigating domestic and family violence
Conclusion
5 Why doesn’t she leave?
Living with violence
Power and complexity
Agency and resistance
What about love? Love and violence
‘I didn’t want people judging’: Rejecting victimhood
The ‘burden’ of liberation
Conclusion
6 What about the kids?
Mother blame
Choosing him …?
Women and violence
Both/and
Conclusion
7 Why doesn’t he leave?
DFV, housing, and homelessness
Experiencing home
Why doesn’t he leave?’
Safe at home: A paradigm shift?
Which men?
Does leaving help?
Conclusion
8 Conclusion
Index
