Policy Responses to Couple Conflict and Domestic Violence: A Framework for Discussion

Until about 3 decades ago, conflict between couples-even when it involved violence-was considered essentially a private matter, beyond the scope of government intervention. In this chapter I sketch the broad outlines of the landscape of the current policy response to different types of couple conflict, and to the separate but related issue of domestic violence. I then raise a few of the questions and issues that I believe need to be addressed in the future.