Understanding Women's Responses to Domestic Violence

This article examines women's responses to violence perpetrated by an intimate male partner. Qualitative data gathered from interviews with abused women who were part of a wider evaluation study of programmes for violent men is presented. Findings reveal that understanding women's responses to violence prompts practitioners to be: mindful of the complexity of violent relationships; aware of the strategies of resistance which women deploy in order to stop/reduce the violence; and cognisant of the interconnectedness of women's and men's responses to men's violence against women.