Questioning Domestic Violence Orthodoxies: Challenging the Social Construction of Women as Victims and as Being Responsible for Stopping Male Violence

This article examines the competing forces impacting on the identities of women and their 'choices' after experiencing domestic violence. The article discusses the areas of progress in raising the profile and responses to domestic violence and maps some of the competing and dominant forces which are shifting ideas around domestic violence and challenging the intent of feminist activism in domestic violence. The feminist language of domestic violence that politicised the issue and brought it to the attention of governments and the public is considered in the light of how it has been taken up and used in social policies and by some men's rights groups. Finally the article questions how to take the gains of feminism forward and considers the future challenges in preventing domestic violence.