How Will Battered Women Fare under the New Welfare Reform

President Bill Clinton fulfilled his promise to "end welfare as we know it" by signing into law the euphemistically entitled Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 ("Welfare Act").I This historic pen stroke followed an outcry of concern from victims' advocate groups who fear harsh and unanticipated repercussions against battered women 2 and their children. 3 How and to what extent this new legislation will negatively impact battered women remains to be seen, but a number of consequences are likely.Unless victims of domestic violence are identified and exempted from certain of the Welfare Act's provisions, the violence they experience may be exacerbated.The lifetime limits of welfare reform may prolong abusive relationships by narrowing financial options for women who are economically dependent on their batterers.Moreover, mandatory work requirements may aggravate violence by batterers who resent their partners' efforts to become independent.Similarly, federal requirements mandating that women identify the paternity of their children may place them in danger by reintroducing batterers into their lives.Finally, restrictions on teenage mothers may encourage them to stay in households in which they are abused by parents or legal guardians in order to receive aid.