ABSTRACT
Until recently domestic violence was largely a private matter, but it has now begun to attract considerable public attention in many Western countries due to the improved social position of women, an increased awareness of women’s rights, campaigning by feminist groups, and research documentation of the widespread and serious nature of the problem (Jasinski and Williams 1998; Steinman 1991; Straus and Gelles 1990). In America, all 50 states have now passed civil and/or criminal statutes to protect battered women (Buzawa and Buzawa 2002; Roberts and Kurst-Swanger 2002).
