ABSTRACT
O. J. Simpson's trial (which began in 1994) for the brutal murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, along with the discovery that he had beaten her at least eight times during their marriage, focused national attention on the problem of intimate violence. The unprecedented amount of media attention on the Simpson drama gave experts on abusive relationships an opportunity to educate the American public about the magnitude of the problem. They often cited a 1992 report by the American Medical Association that said 4 million women are beaten by an intimate partner each year. What was not examined closely by either the experts or the media was how these women are disenfranchised by institutional authorities who sometimes ignore their cries for help.
