Book Review: Working With Female Offenders: A Gender Sensitive Approach

• Date: 01 December 2011
• Author: Nancy Dickinson
• Published date: 01 December 2011
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016811423317
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Book Reviews
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women. However to deny women’s capacity for violence at a time when women have gained some
voice and are ‘‘no longer entirely outside the kingdom’’ pits groups of women against each other and
risks rolling back the gains that have been made by strengthening the arguments of those who seek to
weaken protections for domestic violence victims. Despite such risks, the author concludes, struggle
and reparation are important ‘‘ . . . in sustaining the vitality of a social movement in that they
acknowledge inter-group conflict as an ongoing human dilemma, rather than as an oppressive state
to be simply overcome.’’
Haaken’s interpretations and conclusions are generally persuasive. She writes with more passion
than most social scientists and freely acknowledges the activist feminist perspective she brings to her
analysis. While the multitude of points of reference derived from psychoanalysis, the psychology of
storytelling, feminist and other perspectives give the book an appealing vibrancy, there are times
when form overwhelms substance and points are stretched beyond their plausible limits. An example
is the author’s suggestion that unconscious forces are at work in creating ‘‘battle zones’’ around fears
and anxieties among feminist domestic violence advocates. One may ask whether it is necessary to
invoke unconscious forces to explain current struggles among feminist advocates, when, in fact, they
may simply be consequences of consciously chosen reform strategies. Feminist reformers most
likely knew that a united front, that is, a clear unambiguous message, was needed to gain acceptance
vis-a`-vis the opposition majority. Thus, unambiguous mantras like ‘‘no woman is safe,’’ ‘‘men are
the batterers,’’ and ‘‘women are the victims’’ were essential and effective. Suggesting that, for exam-
ple, the ‘‘battle zone’’ between advocates maintaining that ‘‘no woman is safe’’ and those maintain-
ing that ‘‘some women are less safe than others,’’ is a by-product, not of unconscious forces, but of
the evolution of a successful reform movement. Hard Knocks: Domestic Violence and the Psychol-
ogy of Storytelling is an enlightened and forward looking assessment of domestic violence reform.
Students,...