Decriminalizing Domestic Violence. Leigh Goodmark

      University of California Press

      University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.

      University of California Press

      Oakland, California

      © 2018 by The Regents of the University of California

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Goodmark, Leigh, 1969- author.

      Title: Decriminalizing domestic violence : a balanced policy approach to intimate partner violence / Leigh Goodmark.

      Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

      Identifiers: LCCN 2018011165 (print) | LCCN 2018015037 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520968295 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520295568 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780520295575 (pbk. : alk. paper)

      Subjects: LCSH: Intimate partner violence—United States. | Family violence—United States—Prevention.

      Classification: LCC HV6626.2 (ebook) | LCC HV6626.2 .G667 2018 (print) | DDC 362.82/925610973—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018011165

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       For Doug, Juliet, and Carter, as always

      There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not lead single-issue lives.

      —AUDRE LORDE

      Contents

       Acknowledgments

       INTRODUCTION

       Intimate Partner Violence Is . . .

      1. A CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROBLEM?

      2. AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM

      3. A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM

      4. A COMMUNITY PROBLEM

      5. A HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEM

      6. A Balanced Policy Approach

       Notes

       Bibliography

       Index

Acknowledgments

      On some days, writing a book is a labor of love. On others, it’s unimaginable torture. And those are the days when you’re grateful for the colleagues, friends, and family who provide the support and encouragement you need to keep going—and you’re glad that you get the acknowledgments section of your book to thank all of them.

      This book would not exist but for Claire Renzetti. Claire is a mentor, a supporter, a dear friend, and my idol. No other individual (in my opinion) has made as significant a contribution to the field of intimate partner violence research and no one else does so with the wisdom, humor, and warmth that Claire brings to every project. Which is why I keep doing projects for Claire, and why I will be fully employed (by her) for the next several years. Thank you so much, Claire.

      Maura Roessner was enthusiastic about this idea from the first time we talked over coffee, and didn’t blink (okay, maybe she blinked a little) when I told her the title. Her support of this project and her encouragement have been invaluable to me.

      Thanks to the cohort of colleagues and friends who continue to push the envelope on the relationship of law to gender-based violence: Donna Coker, Deborah Weissman, Julie Goldscheid, Aya Gruber, Aziza Ahmed, Carrie Bettinger-Lopez, Brenda Smith, Margaret Johnson, Joanne Belknap, and Angela Harris. Thanks also to my restorative justice friends, particularly Gale Burford. I couldn’t write a book entitled “Decriminalizing Domestic Violence” without expecting some serious pushback, and your work, as well as your comments and critiques both on this book and on the articles that preceded it, have helped me to develop an argument that (hopefully) will withstand that criticism and offer something valuable to the conversation. I’m grateful for the benefit of your insights.

      I am unbelievably lucky to be teaching at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Thanks to all of my colleagues, but particularly Dean Donald Tobin and clinic codirectors Michael Pinard and Renée Hutchins, for their encouragement and support. My research assistants, Neda Saghafi and Chelsea Van Orden, fielded every bizarre request with alacrity and good humor and provided invaluable feedback. They are both going to be amazing attorneys, and I’m proud to have worked with them.

      Parts of this book were adapted from law review articles that appeared in the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender and the Florida State University Law Review. Thanks so much to the student editors of those journals for their input and ideas.

      Like many people who are passionate about what they do, I tend to bring my work home. Which means that my family has heard enough about gender-based violence to last them a lifetime. Thanks to Doug for twenty-five years of love, support, and editing, for being willing to single parent both at home and abroad so that I can learn and work with advocates around the world, for your sense of humor, and for the thousands of things that you do to make our lives better. And to my children, Juliet and Carter, who have sat through trainings and court and lectures and been in many places that caused people to question my parenting, thank you for being the amazing people that you are. I am in awe of you every day. I can only