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A Case Study of Community-Based Responses to Rural Woman Battering

Texas A&M University

Joe Gorton

University of Northern Iowa

This case study addresses intimate partner violence against women in a rural Texascounty. Employing qualitative data analysis, we examined rural woman battering fromthe perspectives of battered women, criminal justice officials, and community serviceproviders. The findings reveal that survivors of intimate violence and providers ofcommunity-based interventions had conflicting perspectives about the delivery of servicesfor battered women. Regarding criminal justice services, survivors expressed concernsabout inadequate protection, discourteous treatment, and insufficient informationabout their legal options. In contrast, criminal justice providers were reluctant to makearrests, tended to impose lenient sanctions on abusers, questioned victim credibility, andexpressed victim-blaming attitudes. The article concludes by discussing political implicationsof the study for battered women's services and research in rural settings. Theauthors suggest that the disjuncture between battered women's needs and communityinterventions is the product of an ideology of rural patriarchy that is largely unchallengedby grassroots political advocacy.

Key Words: battered women • criminal justice • politics • rural

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