Decriminalizing Domestic Violence - (Gender and Justice) by Leigh Goodmark (Paperback)

About the Book

"Decriminalizing Domestic Violence asks the crucial, yet often ignored, question of why and how the criminal legal system has become the primary response to intimate partner violence in the United States. It introduces readers, both new and well versed in the subject, to the ways in which the criminal justice system harms rather than helps those who are subjected to abuse and violence in their homes and communities. The book examines how mandatory arrests, no-drop prosecutions, zero-tolerance public housing policies, and the ever-growing collateral consequences of a criminal record can mean that vast amounts of social, legal, and financial resources are diverted into a criminal justice apparatus that is ultimately unable to deliver justice or safety to victims, or to prevent domestic violence to begin with. Envisioned for both courses and research topics in domestic violence, family violence, gender and law, sociology of law, and others, the book challenges readers to view intimate partner violence not as a criminal justice concern but as an economic, public health, community, and human rights problem. At a moment when we are examining our national addiction to punishment, Decriminalizing Domestic Violence offers a thoughtful, pragmatic roadmap to real domestic violence reform"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Decriminalizing Domestic Violence asks the crucial, yet often overlooked, question of why and how the criminal legal system became the primary response to intimate partner violence in the United States. It introduces readers, both new and well versed in the subject, to the ways in which the criminal legal system harms rather than helps those who are subjected to abuse and violence in their homes and communities, and shares how it drives, rather than deters, intimate partner violence. The book examines how social, legal, and financial resources are diverted into a criminal legal apparatus that is often unable to deliver justice or safety to victims or to prevent intimate partner violence in the first place. Envisioned for both courses and research topics in domestic violence, family violence, gender and law, and sociology of law, the book challenges readers to understand intimate partner violence not solely, or even primarily, as a criminal law concern but as an economic, public health, community, and human rights problem. It also argues that only by viewing intimate partner violence through these lenses can we develop a balanced policy agenda for addressing it. At a moment when we are examining our national addiction to punishment, Decriminalizing Domestic Violence offers a thoughtful, pragmatic roadmap to real reform.

From the Back Cover

"Visionary and comprehensive, this long-awaited book provides one of the most thoughtful and comprehensive analyses of criminalization yet. It is balanced in its analysis and brave in its critique of the ways that current approaches to intimate partner violence have failed to respond to the complexity of the problem(s). Goodmark has made a profound contribution to legal scholarship, the public policy debates, and, perhaps most importantly, the activist antiviolence community looking for social justice solutions." --Beth E. Richie, author of Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America's Prison Nation

"Goodmark offers a brave and decisive critique of our commitment to governing the problem of domestic violence through crime control and an alternative vision for protecting victims." --Jonathan Simon, author of Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America

Review Quotes

"Decriminalizing Domestic Violence provides a good overview for readers concerned with crime control and advocates who seek to rebuild a broken system."-- "Journal of Children and Poverty"

"[Goodmark] reminds us that expanding our perspectives of what interventions could look like are 'worth exploring.' . . . Readers will likely take away a great deal from this book, but at the very least, they will close the book with an expanded sense of what may be possible."-- "Affilila: Journal of Women and Social Work"

"Provides a fresh and well-considered perspective on the field for anyone who is interested to learn more."-- "Contemporary Justice Review"

"The multifaceted aspect of domestic violence as a criminal justice, economic, public health, community, and human rights problem . . . creates sites of conversations across these axes."-- "Politics & Gender"

About the Author

Leigh Goodmark is Marjorie Cook Professor of Law and Director of the Gender Violence Clinic at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law and the author of A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System.