Empowering battered women transnationally: the case for postmodern interventions.

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Empowering battered women transnationally: the case for postmodern interventions.

I was beaten very badly many times by my husband. This man, that i walked down the aisle with, where there was supposed to be love, violated me. I married this man, but he beat me and kicked me. He beat me bad enough to cause an abortion. He kicked babies out of my stomach and beat me without mercy. (Testimony of a woman from the United States)

- Reilly, 1994

International policymakers have at last committed themselves to ending gender warfare (Carrillo, 1992; Connors, 1994; United Nations, 1993). Through educational campaigns (Montano, 1992), task force and commission reports (Australian Law Reform Commission, 1993; Canadian Panel on Violence against Women, 1993), constitutional amendments (Brazilian Constitution, 1988), and other law reforms, governments around the globe are now taking conscious steps to eliminate or ameliorate the effects of intimate violence in the family.

As a leading cause of injury and death to women, violence against women by their intimate partners nonetheless remains an intractable problem. Each year, in the United States alone, at least 2 million women of all races and classes are battered by a spouse or intimate partner (Straus & Gelles, 1986). Battery by a spouse or lover is the single most common reason for women entering hospital emergency rooms, exceeding childbirth, automobile accidents, muggings, and all other medical emergencies. Studies have found that 22 percent to 35 percent of women presenting to hospital emergency departments are there because of complaints related to ongoing abuse (Randall, 1990). One of every three pregnant obstetric patients was at ri...

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