Who Owns Domestic Abuse? the Local Politics of a Social Problem
Description:
Reveals the practical realities of a community effort to establish a shelter for abused women in a small municipality of southern Ontario. The many conflicts generated by attempts to assert, resist, & maintain ownership of the project are examined to argue that "owning" a problem does not necessarily lead to viable solutions. Much of the data were obtained from in-depth interviews with abused women, abusive men, community activists, & professionals. The study is grounded in a "modernist" approach informed by constructionist insights, arguing that analyses of tensions between conditions & their politicized constructions shed light on unintended outcomes. The impassioned debate over definitions of "abuse" is described, & personal accounts of abuse are related. The strain that exists between community development & feminist approaches to abuse intervention is explored, along with varied views of therapeutic intervention, the politics of the shelter development process, & differing perspectives of the law enforcement, legal, & medical professions. It is maintained that examining similarities between the dynamics of abuse as both lived experience & political process increases theoretical understandings of social problems development, & a shift in focus to the divisive nature of social problems processes leads to more viable & effective outcomes.
Type of Resource:
Book
Publication Date:
2000
Location:
Toronto