Responding to Domestic Violence

This book reflects on the problem of domestic violence by thinking critically about policy and practice responses. Moving beyond accounts of men's violence embedded in metaphors of 'good' and 'bad men', or as the expressions of particular structures and practices, it initiates challenging conversations.

Kate Seymour is a Senior Lecturer and founding member of the Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) at Flinders University. Widely recognised for her contribution to the critical study of masculinities and men's violence, her research spans the fields of social work and criminology reflecting her experience as an academic across both disciplines. She is a skilled qualitative researcher with a background in direct social work practice and management including in the areas of adult offending and work with male perpetrators of domestic and family violence. Sarah Wendt is Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) at Flinders University. As a leading Australian researcher on domestic violence and social work practice, her work centres on both the gendered nature and lived experience of domestic and family violence, with a focus on practice and policy change. She is the author and co-editor of Domestic Violence in Diverse Contexts: Re-examining Gender and Contemporary Feminisms in Social Work Practice, both published by Routledge. Kristin Natalier is Associate Professor of Sociology at Flinders University. She is a leading Australian researcher on familial relationships and organisational and policy responses to family change. Her work centres on the gendered nature of familial and intimate relationships as, both, lived experiences and sites of policy intervention.

1.Introduction. 2.Violence and vulnerability: Who does what to whom? 3.Perpetrators and accountability: Invisible or ignored? 4.Men's change: Who is doing the work? 5.Why doesn't she leave? 6.What about the kids? 7.Why doesn't he leave? 8.Conclusion.