Addressing domestic violence in Canada and the United States: The uneasy co-habitation of women and the state

Feminist sociologists and activists have drawn attention to how violence against women is linked to structural and cultural factors that subordinate women, mainly intersecting inequalities and limited rights. Mobilization by the Battered Women’s and Anti-Violence Movements, media attention, legislation, and policy have increased awareness and support to address violence against women. However, activists and researchers have also critiqued the problems with invoking the power of the state. The authors interrogate the role of the state in addressing domestic violence, especially in the context of immigration in the neoliberal era. More specifically, they examine how domestic violence, as legal and policy discourse, has been framed in Canada and the US, and the resulting forms of intervention. Through a critical literature review the authors show how this framing impacts immigrant and racialized women facing domestic violence. The article highlights problems and gaps in the respective discourses, as well as indicates possibilities for change.