Listening to Battered Women: A Survivor-Centered Approach to Advocacy, Mental Health, and Justice

by Lisa Goodman, Deborah Epstein

Overview

Listening to Battered Women: A Survivor-Centered Approach to Advocacy, Mental Health, and Justice presents an in-depth, multidisciplinary look at society's responses to domestic violence. Though substantial reforms have been made in the services available to battered women since the 1970s, the book shows how the public and private systems available to victims of domestic violence are still failing to meet the needs of the women who seek help.

Using a feminist perspective, authors Lisa Goodman and Deborah Epstein explore and critique the current available services in three different arenas: the domestic violence advocacy community, the mental health profession, and the justice system. In recent years, the options available to battered women have expanded dramatically. However, these reforms have been made at the expense of the contextualized, women-centered focus that was once at the heart of the anti-domestic violence movement.

The authors argue that a renewed focus on the principles of the early feminist movement — for example, listening to individual women's voices, promoting supportive communities, and facilitating economic empowerment, could result in substantial progress in efforts to protect and counsel battered women. A series of concrete recommendations for improvements in the advocacy, mental health, and justice systems are also discussed.

Researchers interested in the field of violence, gender studies, psychology of women, mental health trauma, or family law, as well as practitioners working with the victims of intimate partner violence, will find this book to be a valuable resource in their efforts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433802393
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Publication date:	10/15/2007
Series:	Psychology of Women Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Lisa Goodman, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology at Boston College, and Coordinator of the Mental Health Counseling MA Program. She is the author of over 65 articles and book chapters on institutional and community responses to intimate partner violence; the effects of partner violence on marginalized women, including homeless, low-income, and severely mentally ill populations; and innovative community-based mental health practices for vulnerable populations. She has received grants from the National Institute of Justice and the National Institute of Mental Health to pursue research in these areas. Lisa is co-chair of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Male Violence Against Women, and co-founder of the ROAD (Reach Out About Depression) Resource Team, an advocacy project for low-income women struggling with depression in Cambridge, MA.
 
Deborah Epstein, JD, is a Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic, and Associate Dean for Clinical Education and Public Interest & Community Service Programs. She helped lead an effort to design and implement one of the nation's first specialized domestic violence courts in Washington, D.C., and served as Co-Director of the court's Domestic Violence Intake Center. Her scholarship analyzes contemporary efforts to reform systemic responses to those in abusive relationships, and suggests new ways to improve the legal system. She is Chair of the DC Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, and has served on the DC Mayor's Commission on Violence Against Women, the DC Superior Court Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, and the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence Board of Directors.
 

Table of Contents

Series Foreword

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1. The Need for Continued Reform: The Broad Scope and Deep Impact of Intimate Partner Violence
2. The Advocacy Response
3. The Mental Health System Response
4. The Justice System Response
5. A Critical Analysis of System Responses: The Importance of Voice, Community, and Economic Empowerment
6. Recommendations for Future Reform

References

Author Index

Subject Index

About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Nicholas Greco IV, MS, BCETS, CATSM, FAAETS (C3 Education and Research, Inc.)
Description: This is a realistic and detailed discussion of the unfortunate occurrence of intimate partner violence that affects so many lives.
Purpose: The purpose is to emphasize the need for increased responsiveness to the particular concerns of women and the design of practices that not only work but take an individual rather than a one size fits all approach. The purpose is also to educate the reader to where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go in terms of addressing the needs of abused women and their families. The book exceeds expectations.
Audience: This is a must-read for anyone involved or interested in working with victims of domestic violence. Counselors, clinicians in mental health and general medicine, public service officials, first responders, and relatives of victims will find this to be an insightful book. The authors are both credible and tireless individuals working for the betterment of abused victims.
Features: The book smartly takes the reader on a historical exploration of past practices in a number of chapters to emphasize how far we have come and what is still needed for victims of domestic violence. It then provides an in-depth discussion of the various responses from advocacy groups, the mental health system, and of course the justice system. Readers are made fully aware of the complexity, the contradictions, and the difficulty of reporting abuse and the lack of services currently in place for domestic violence victims. The book delves into learned helplessness, the inability of abuse victims to escape the cycle of abuse, and the power their abusers have over them. The book rounds out these excellent discussions with a chapter on recommendations for future reform.
Assessment: This is the quintessential book for a realistic and an authoritative update on domestic violence. This is a weekend read that will stimulate and empower those working with domestic violence victims.

Doody's Review Service

This is an exciting work that provides a critical new framework for analyzing domestic violence. True to their feminist agenda, the authors aim to stimulate awareness and activism in their readers. It is recommended for any serious scholar, student, or lay person interested in understanding the evolution and current challenges to the anti-domestic violence movement.

The Journal of Trauma and Dissociation