Unexpected Subjects – Intimate Partner Violence, Testimony, and the Law

Alessandra Gribaldo is associate professor of cultural anthropology at Roma Tre University in Rome.

"With her book, Gribaldo makes her mark in advocating for women to be heard and for institutions and the public to listen closely. It asks us to rethink the expectations of the socio-legal system and to incorporate the unexpected in the narrative reconstruction of cases of intimate partner violence. Above all, she provides a much-needed challenge to the standard for intelligible subjectivities and shows how the process of elicitation in the way law enforcement, social services, as well as courts handle cases of intimate partner violence, distorts realities and produces contradictory subjectivities which harm the solidity of the case."

• IntroductionChapter 1. (Un)familiar violenceViolence degree zeroMistreated subjects and intractable violenceChapter 2. Wavering intentionsRecognize and speak the violence!Maltrattamenti in famiglia and the abused subjectThe experience of intimate partner violence: A crime with a storyChapter 3. Confessing victimhoodEvidence and testimonial proofThe burden of evidence: experienceWhen evidence lies in the victim subjectChapter 4. The gender of true-lyingThe burden of persuasion: intention and biased evidenceAgency vs credibilityOblique narratives: the imperfect victimConclusions