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Regulating Rural Women: The Patriarchal State (From Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography, P 159- 186, 1998 - See NCJ-170618)

NCJ Number
170624
Author(s)
N Websdale
Date Published
1998
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The government response to interpersonal violence against women is discussed, based on an ethnographic study of rural woman battering in Kentucky and the role of the patriarchal family in such violence.
Abstract
The nature of government intervention in rural communities bears directly on the well-being of women who live in violent relationships with men. The low tax base in rural areas, the great distances to be covered, and the relatively small number of people makes the provision of public transportation by rural governments difficult. Other concerns in rural areas include health care, social services, and child care services. Religion is a significant part of patriarchal ideology in rural social life, and feminist advocacy is also important. One of the defining qualities of rural patriarchy is the isolation it imposes on battered women. Rural women's physical and sociocultural isolation is embedded in the general impoverishment of some rural regions. When inadequate public transportation, health care, and social services are combined with the scarcity of licensed child care, difficulties in obtaining affordable legal services in divorce cases, and lack of representation of women in formal politics, the picture looks pretty dismal for battered women who want to leave violent men. On the other hand, feminist groups and spouse abuse shelters have helped rural women in Kentucky form a new life. Both battered women and activists play a key role in the formulation of government policies that directly impact rural women. 21 notes

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