The Response of the British and American Women’s Movements to Violence Against Women

Abstract

In charting the discovery of the problem of wife abuse, the building of a social movement, and the formulation of responses in Great Britain and the USA, it is only possible in this chapter to touch upon some of the most important events and issues within the larger struggle for change. In both countries, the battered women’s (BW) movement emerged from the broader women’s movement and has formed a significant part of it since the early 1970s. The accomplishments of the BW movements during the last decade involved numerous crucial struggles over the recognition of the problem, recognition and legitimation of grass-roots activists, definitions of causes and solutions and construction of pragmatic and direct ways of working within these movements as well as with outside agencies. It is important to stress that the achievements have been gained through continuous struggle and confrontations, although this chapter will concentrate more on the outcome than the process by which it was achieved.