Rethinking Domestic Violence in Theory and Practice.

Source: (2004) Deviant Behavior, 25: 255–275.

Drawing on the author’s previous work, this article
suggests that conceptual advantages result from
envisioning domestic violence on a larger
continuum of ‘‘normalized’’ to ‘‘extreme’’
sadomasochistic interactions (including gendered
interactions that can also range from ‘‘ordinary’’ to
‘‘deviant’’ in how they are perceived). Thereafter, it
may be harder to ignore how redressing social
inequities involving gender as well as racial and
class imbalances can amount, at least in terms of
prevention, to anti-domestic violence measures of
one important kind. More concretely, proceeding
from the assumption that domestic violence
remains disturbingly common (even though its
exact scope is difficult to ascertain), this article
contrasts how this social problem would best be
approached in theory and how it often continues to
be dealt with in practice. In making this
comparison, a cursory review of recent policy
developments in this area, from mandatory arrest
policies and laws (and the criticisms these have
engendered) to more recent interest in restorative
justice and collaborative empowerment, is
presented and incorporated into the paper’s larger
argument. (author’s abstract)