Insult to Injury: Responses to Intimate Abuse

Ms. Mills discussed her book, Insult to Injury: Rethinking our Responses to Intimate Abuse, in which she asserts that current domestic violence strategies often overlook the individual needs of women in abusive relationships by ignoring racial, ethnic, and religious factors. She claims the criminal justice system may be exacerbating the problem and perpetuating the women as helpless victims stereotype. She looks at the history of law enforcement in this field and the evolution of current politically sacrosanct practices of mandated arrest. She argues the accepted practices do not reflect the reality of the problem or address the needs of those involved. She contends women can be just as aggressive as men, and any child who endures abuse is more likely to become violent as an adult. She showed a video clip of her suggested approach, dubbed “restorative justice,” which encourages dialogue in a group counseling setting to teach couples preventive strategies for recurring violence. close