The thesis is divided into two parts, Part I contains four
chapters which map the pattern of legal changes relating to domestic
violence against women from the 18th century to the 1980s. The
history is written from the viewpoint of the legal interventions
available to and used by women victims of domestic violence.
Statutory enactments, case law and procedural changes in the relevant
areas of criminal, family (ecclesiastical) and welfare law are
described. Throughout Part I the discussion of the remedies
available and reforms implemented is supplemented by the inclusion of
case examples and statistical evidence showing local and national
patterns of use. Chapter 1 describes the period from the start of
the 18th century to the begining of the 20th; Chapter 2,1900 to the
1960s, Chapter 3 from 1969 to 1977 and Chapter 4 the more recent
history in the 10 years between 1977 to 1987.
Part II contains five chapters and is based upon an analysis of
women victim's needs in contemporary socio-legal discourse. Part II
grew out of a concern about the part played by the law in the
secondary assault of women. The main aim of the discussion is to
look at how women victims' self defined needs inform the practice of
the law and how the legal approach contributes to the creation of
violent relations between men and women in the social institution of
heterosexuality. Part II emphasises the use of written and spoken
language in interactional settings to define women's needs. The
discussion is based upon the analysis of:
1. a survey of women involved in 54 legal cases concerning their
partners' behaviour supplemented by interviews with legal advisors;
2. case records obtained from solicitors' offices with the womens'
permission;
3. over 300 decisions traced from the published Law Reports;
4.105 press reports of cases of domestic violence against women.
Chapter 5 describes the method employed in the research for Part II.
Chapter 6 contains the analysis of the women's cases; Chapter 7 the
reported decisions and Chapter 8 the press reports. Chapter 9
offers a summary of academic discourse and the abuse of women as
well as a concluding discussion on some possibilities for the
empowerment of women in law.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/3875 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Radford, Mary Therese |
| Contributors | Rose, Hilary, Hanmer, Jalna |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Postgraduate School of Studies in Applied Social Studies |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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