Listening Rhetorically to Defending Our Lives: Identification and Advocacy in Intimate Partner Abuse

Abstract

In the documentary film Defending Our Lives (1993), women imprisoned for killing their abusers narrate their mistreatment by both their partners and the law. This article examines the film’s function in preparing future attorneys to advocate for women in abusive relationships. It argues that the film encourages rhetorical listening by helping future advocates understand the cultural logics informing abused women’s choices. The film compels viewers to examine the broad cultural contexts of intimate partner abuse, including the sometimes hostile responses of the law, disrupting commonplaces about the role of the legal advocate in the pursuit of justice.