Although women do use violence against intimate partners, the ways in which they use violence, and the context in which this use occurs, are “historically, culturally, motivationally, and situationally distinct.” Shamita Das Dasgupta, Towards an Understanding of Women’s Use of Non-Lethal Violence in Intimate Heterosexual Relationships (2001).
Women use force because not using force hasn’t served to keep them safe.
For various reasons, some courts and social service workers have tried to create gender-neutral interventions as remedy for any use of force in intimate relationships. However, gender is a critical dynamic to be addressed, not ignored.
Women’s use of force is different from men’s battering.
