Insult to Injury poses pointed questions to our current method of handling the issue of domestic violence. Rightly Mills points out that a communal support network is the most effective means of curbing domestic violence at the familial level. Also rightly she points out that criminalization only is effective when the abusive party has something to lose; employment, social standing and is contraindicated amongst the disenfranchised as it increases stress that is already exceeding the limits of marginalized families.
Where I disagree with Mills is where she fails to see 'mainstream feminists', feminists with white middle class status and above, are truly unaware of their contributing to the oppression of others through gentrifying feminism. And that 'mainstream feminists' are correct in projecting the ignorance of feminist ideals because our education system, media, and general culture promotes a misogynistic view of women. But the censorship is a small fraction of the issue of one size fits all domestic violence correction.
I would suggest if Mills wishes to promote a positive community based system of giving families experiencing domestic violence a chance to have a stable family environment she contact Occupy and present her idea as Occupy Domestic Violence and use the same networking community based efforts that made sure the victims of Hurricane Sandy received the help they needed. Because our current culture is resistant to assisting the disenfranchised it will take several generations before legislative efforts bring about the change she wishes. I could not help but notice that Mills would do well to read Susan Fauldi's Backlash to gain more understanding of why modern feminists are so hard line regarding domestic violence.
Synopsis:
Locking up men who beat their partners sounds like a tremendous improvement over the days when men could hit women with impunity and women fearing for their lives could expect no help from authorities. But does our system of requiring the arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of abusers lessen domestic violence or help battered women? In this already controversial but vitally important book, we learn that the criminal justice system may actually be making the problem of domestic violence worse. Looking honestly at uncomfortable facts, Linda Mills makes the case for a complete overhaul and presents a promising alternative.
The evidence turns up some surprising facts about the complexities of intimate abuse, facts that run against mainstream assumptions: The current system robs battered women of what power they do hold. Perhaps as many as half of women in abusive relationships stay in them for strong cultural, economic, religious, or emotional reasons. Jailing their partners often makes their situations worse. Women are at least as physically violent and emotionally aggressive as are men toward women, and women's aggression is often central to the dynamic of intimate abuse.
Informed by compelling evidence, personal experience, and what abused women themselves say about their needs, Mills proposes no less than a fundamentally new system. Addressing the real dynamics of intimate abuse and incorporating proven methods of restorative justice, Mills's approach focuses on healing and transformation rather than shame or punishment. Already the subject of heated controversy, Insult to Injury offers a desperately needed and powerful means for using what we know to reduce violence in our homes.