Troubled Marriage

Leigh Goodmark is Marjorie Cook Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. She is the author of many books includingDecriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach to Intimate Partner Violence, A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System, and Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism. She is also the editor of Comparative Perspectives on Gender Violence: Lessons from Efforts Worldwide.

"[A] compelling reappraisal of domestic violence . . . outstanding for collections on women and the law, domestic violence, and victimization. Highly recommended." - D. Schultz,CHOICE "Goodmark's synthetic, accessible, and critical account of the development, current condition, and possible futures of legal remedies for women subjected to abuse tracks the progress and perils of three decades of inspired feminist legal activism. Goodmark raises important questions about feminist theory and legal advocacy while engaging longstanding debates about strategies for social change and the limits and possibilities of the state as a terrain of feminists struggle." - Lisa D. Brush (Tulsa Law Review) "A Troubled Marriage is powerful and spot-on in its challenges to those of us who have given over so much to the state through law and funding. It is a must read for everyone involved in crafting law, litigating for reforms, creating new services and assistance (which may or may not be what battered women would chose) and surrendering to the power of the state in so many ways.I urge activists to come together for conversation and debate about A Troubled Marriage." - Barbara J. Hart,co-founder, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence "In this important book, Goodmark bravely exposes the range of feminist premises about violence in the home, steadfastly confronts the paradoxical reality of under- and over-enforcement of existing law, and calls for a wide new range of remedies far beyond the ken of dominance feminisms crabbed penal imagination. Respect for womens agency and womens strategies in and through sex and power animate this dramatic, comprehensive, immensely readable, completely new approach. Goodmarks anti-essentialist feminism is the voice of a new generation. It could change the program of legal feminism, vastly for the better." - Janet Halley,author of Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism "We all think we know what 'justice' is, what it looks like. But in this thoroughly researched and carefully argued book, Leigh Goodmark demonstrates that justice has multiple meanings, depending on who is doing the defining. She also makes clear that women who have been abused often find their ability to define and seek justice usurped by others who believe they know 'what's best.' Goodmark's analysis highlights the possibilities and limits of law for abused women seeking justice, and proposes extra-legal remedies that will undoubtedly spark debate, but ultimately may prove appealing to the true experts on domestic violence: women who have experienced abuse." - Claire M. Renzetti,author of Feminist Criminology "She uses both theory and legal case studies to build her narrative: it is an effective strategy, one that makes Goodmark's criticism of the current legal system convincing." (Women's Studies Journal) "Leigh Goodmark's book effectively explains why scholars and practitioners have reached this conclusion and makes inroads to setting a new direction. In her analysis, the root of the problem is linked to the influence of 'dominance' feminism on reform practices and the solution is found in developing responses to domestic violence 'beyond the law.'" (Criminal Law Bulletin)

• Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Developing the Legal Response 2 Defining Domestic Violence 3 Deconstructing the Victim 4 Separation 5 Mandatory Interventions 6 Reframing Domestic Violence Law and Policy: Anti-Essentialist Principles 7 A Reconstructed Legal System 8 Beyond the Law Notes Bibliography Index About the Author