Rural Women Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography

Neil Websdale

SAGE, 1998 - Family & Relationships - 263 pages

Drawing on his ethnographic research in rural areas of Kentucky, the author of this book presents a thorough look at the experiences of battered women in rural communities. Neil Websdale demonstrates how rural patriarchy and an insidious ol' boy's network of law enforcement and local politics sustains and reproduces the subordinate, vulnerable, isolated position of many rural women.

Taking into account that traditional patterns of intervention can often put women in isolated communities at further risk, the author recommends a coordinated multi-agency approach to rural battering, spearheaded by the agencies of state feminism.

Contents

• Chapter 1 For Batter or For Worse: 1
• For Batter: 2
• Woman Battering and Rural Isolation: 5
• Physical Abuse: 8
• Sexual Abuse: 11
• Emotional Abuse: 14
• Resistance: 19
• Patriarchy and Pine Boxes: 23
• Murder: 24
• MurderSuicide: 30
• Conclusion: 32
• Chapter 2 Rural Patriarchy Crime and Criminal Justice: 35
• Defining Rural: 36
• The Rural Economy and the Division of Labor: 37
• Sociocultural Considerations: 38
• Regional Diversity in the Primarily Rural State of Kentucky: 41
• Rural Patriarchy: 44
• The Concept of Rural Patriarchy: 48
• Crime and Criminal Justice in Rural Communities: 55
• Sociological Explanations of the Low Levels of Rural Crime: 56
• Criminal Justice in Rural Communities: 58
• Conclusion: 63
• Chapter 3 Woman Battering and Criminal Justice: 66
• Woman Battering: 67
• The Struggle Over Terminology: 69
• The Nature of Woman Battering: 73
• Rural Woman Battering: 75
• The Criminal Justice Response to Woman Battering: 76
• Courts: 84
• Conclusion: 88
• The Compromised Enforcement of Law: 91
• The Components of Compromised Policing: 93
• The Ol Boys Network: 102
• Patronage Politics and the Rural Compromise: 106
• The Low Tax Base and Compromised Policing: 108
• Delayed Protection: 110
• No Phone: 111
• Rural Police Serving EPOs by Telephone: 112
• Informants: 113
• Police Corruption and Compromised Law Enforcement: 116
• Conclusion: 123
• The Courts and Rural Woman Battering: 127
• Rural Courts and Woman Battering in Kentucky: 128
• Negotiating The Rural Courts: 132
• Revictimization From The Bench: 136
• Womens Perceptions of Rural Judges: 137
• Judicial Rudeness: 138
• Sentencing Conflictual Families to Church: 140
• The Judicial Failure to Appreciate the Difficulties Faced by Battered Women: 143
• Knowing the Abuser: 151
• Conclusion: 155
• The Patriarchal State: 161
• Rural Woman Battering and The Patriarchal State: 163
• Transportation: 164
• Social Services: 166
• Lack of Child Care Services: 171
• Formal Politics: 174
• Rural Spouse Abuse Shelters: 178
• Divorce: 180
• Conclusion: 183
• Chapter 7 Rural Battering and Social Policies: 187
• Rural Battering and Recent Federal Legislation: 190
• Extant Social Policies and The Need for Change: 193
• Law Enforcement: 194
• The Judiciary: 197
• Illegal Drugs or Battering?: 198
• Shelters or Outreach?: 199
• Health Care: 200
• Social Services: 201
• Legal Representation: 202
• Provision of Child Care: 203
• The State and Womens Employment: 204
• The Media: 205
• Education: 206
• Battering The Patriarchal State and Rural Communities: 207
• Methodological Considerations: 214
• Research Concerning Men Interviewing Women: 216
• My Conversations With Battered Women: 222
• Conversations With Other Others: 225
• Observation: 228
• Participant Observation: 229
• Regional Map of Kentucky: 232
• References: 234
• Index: 251
• About The Author: 263

About the author

For Neil Websdale, a Northern Arizona University professor in criminology and criminal justice, the power of education extends far beyond the classroom. For nearly 20 years, Websdale has worked to educate students, law enforcement officials, and policy makers about better ways to prevent domestic violence. One of the key ways in which he does this is by helping to establish domestic violence review teams, which use a systematic approach for analyzing domestic violence in order to prevent future occurrences. In his work, Websdale focuses on collaboration and education: attempting to mitigate the negative effects of domestic violence requires an informed group effort.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Rural Women Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography; Volume 6 of SAGE Series on Violence against Women
• Author: Neil Websdale
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: SAGE, 1998
• ISBN: 0761908528, 9780761908524
• Length: 263 pages
• Subjects: Family & Relationships / Abuse / Domestic Partner Abuse; Family & Relationships / Abuse / General; Law / General; Medical / Mental Health; Psychology / Interpersonal Relations; Social Science / Criminology; Social Science / Sociology / Rural; Social Science / Women's Studies