The government engages in political crime when it fails to define widespread and systematic harm against women as illegal, when it neglects to enforce laws that do provide some measure of protection to women, and when it provides structural support for institutional practices that clearly harm women. The government's failure to protect women begins with its failure to create laws that are sensitive to women's experience of violence and take women's experiences as seriously as men's. In addition, both historically and currently, police practices in many jurisdictions have emphasized nonintervention in family problems, thereby legitimizing violence against women. The government also supports a culture of violence toward women that operates at both institutional and ideological levels. The government fails to protect women from violence because it benefits from the subjugation of women in that patriarchy serves the interests of those in power. However, the government's failure to adequately protect women against violence is unrelated to the nature of the harm. Therefore, strategies must focus on eliminating patriarchy, especially in the government; on reducing or eliminating structural and institutional inducements to violence; and making every effort to provide individuals with the skills and resources necessary to reduce interpersonal violence in their daily lives. Notes and 45 references