Domestic Violence and the Politics of Privacy

by Kristin A. Kelly

Overview

Although domestic violence is not new, it has only recently been recognized as a problem meriting public attention. Great strides have been made in some areas—such as protection orders and shelter provision—but the problem as a whole has proven extremely resistant to countermeasures.

In Domestic Violence and the Politics of Privacy, Kristin A. Kelly argues that understanding this resistance requires a recognition of the tension within liberalism between preserving the privacy of the family and protecting vulnerable individuals. Practical, real-world information gained from frontline workers underpins the author's suggestions for how to address this tension. In emphasizing the roles of democratic institutions and community participation in determining the shape of future policy about domestic violence, Kelly replaces the traditional opposition of the public and private spheres with a triangular relationship. The state, the family, and the community comprise the three corners.

Kelly builds upon interviews with more than forty individuals working directly on the problem of domestic violence. Her model is further formed by a critical analysis of the theoretical and legal frameworks used to understand and regulate the relationship between public and private.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801439087
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	12/10/2002
Series:	5/12/2003
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kristin A. Kelly is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
1	Privacy and Domestic Violence	1
2	The Family as a Private Entity	12
3	Feminist Re-Visions of the Public/Private Dichotomy	32
4	The Legal Regulation of Domestic Violence	59
5	The Power of Participation	83
6	Reconstructing the Boundaries of Community Concern	112
7	Conclusion: Privacy, Principles, and Process	138
	Notes	165
	Bibliography	193
	Index	205

What People are Saying About This

September 2003 Choice

Kelly presents a new model for the analysis of the societal response to domestic violence... Well written and adequately referenced and indexed, the book is within the reach of most readers.

Mary Hawkesworth

Domestic Violence and the Politics of Privacy is a model of feminist praxis. Kristin Kelly demonstrates how astute theoretical analysis can help illuminate limitations of current approaches to domestic violence and how attentiveness to the views of feminist activists can revise theoretical constructions of public and private spheres. Blending these theoretical and practical insights, Kelly advances a framework to expand community responses to the complexities of domestic violence.

Joyce Gelb

This book seeks to place the issue of domestic violence within a framework that contests the traditional distinction between public and private life, as represented respectively by the state and family. Kristin Kelly highlights the tensions that exist between individual rights and autonomy and the relational and dependent aspects of family life. Seen from this vantage point, the private family, while capable of violence, may also be a place to retreat from public scrutiny.... This book is admirable in its effort to integrate and reconceptualize theory and practice related to domestic violence. It attempts to deconstruct existing boundaries between the public and private, finding both limitations and problems in each, and calls for a kind of new civic intervention based in community responsibility.

Paul E. Parker

Kelly has reenvisioned privacy, community, and citizenship, with potentially far-reaching and far-ranging consequences....In this ambitious book, Kelly has made important contributions by allowing us to see in more complex and realistic ways both battered women (autonomous/connected) and our incomplete responses to domestic violence (legal intervention; victim blaming).

Editorial Reviews

From the beginning of the book, Kelly grabs her reader with the stark and shocking statistics on rates of domestic violence.... 'There should be a menu of alternatives for victims,' rather than just the two choices of either going to law enforcement or staying silent, Kelly said. In order to provide more alternatives, she proposes a new model for dealing with the issue that enlists the help of not only the state and law enforcement but also the community.

Willimantic (CT) Chronicle

Kristine Kelly's book combines a very good summary and critique of classical political thought and modern theorizing about the public/private split with an empirical study. She then uses conclusions drawn from that study to construct a more complex model of the relationship between the public and the private, one that is more appropriate for the analysis of domestic violence.

Cynthia Grant Bowman

From the beginning of the book, Kelly grabs her reader with the stark and shocking statistics on rates of domestic violence.... 'There should be a menu of alternatives for victims, ' rather than just the two choices of either going to law enforcement or staying silent, Kelly said. In order to provide more alternatives, she proposes a new model for dealing with the issue that enlists the help of not only the state and law enforcement but also the community.

-- "Willimantic (CT) Chronicle"

Kristine Kelly's book combines a very good summary and critique of classical political thought and modern theorizing about the public/private split with an empirical study. She then uses conclusions drawn from that study to construct a more complex model of the relationship between the public and the private, one that is more appropriate for the analysis of domestic violence.

--Cynthia Grant Bowman "Perspectives on Politics"

From the Publisher