Domestic violence and abuse through a feminist lens

Abstract

Feminist perspectives on Domestic Violence (DV) see DV as caused by and constitutive of gendered patterns of power and privilege in society. This chapter briefly sketches the pivotal role of feminist activism and theorising in placing DV on the political agenda as well as in developing theories and concepts to study DV. The chapter mimics the multiplicity and evolving character of the field by highlighting some formative and ongoing controversies, such as the ‘gender symmetry’ controversy, originally a debate between researchers representing a feminist perspective and researchers who challenged this perspective. Today, different feminist researchers place themselves on different sides in an ongoing controversy over definitions and methods of measurement, between those who promote survey methodology and the salience of physical violence in the definition and measurement of DV, vis-à-vis those who focus on coercive control and who emphasise the importance of qualitative methods in making sense of victims’ experiences and the development of concepts and typologies. Another important and formative controversy is the ongoing critiques, expansion and redefinition of feminist perspectives on DV, spurred by the theoretical and political contributions from black, postcolonial, queer and indigenous feminisms. The chapter weaves these perspectives together as part of recognising the multiple origins as well as the role of ongoing critiques and controversies in the development of the field, elucidating how feminist perspectives on DV may be seen as an ongoing practice of simultaneously theorising and politicising DV and gender.