In 1592, Shakespeare finished Taming of the Shrew. The play details the story of Katherina (or Kate), a headstrong and witty woman, a shrew. Kate is married to Petruchio. When he informs her of their pending nuptials, he states “[f]or I am he am born to tame you, Kate”. For the next three acts, Petruchio abuses and manipulates Kate, telling her his treatment of her is justified because nothing is good enough for her. Eventually, Kate’s spirit is broken by her constant abuse. The play ends with three of the male characters, including Petruchio, making a bet on whose wife is the most “obedient.” Kate turns out to be the most obedient wife and ends the play by stating “[a]nd place your hands below your husband’s foot, In token of which duty, if he please, My hand is ready, may it do him ease.” Kate is saying that she is so obedient to her husband that if he needed to stand on her hands for her to prove her loyalty to him, she is ready. The play ends with Kate being broken; the strong-willed, witty woman is no more.

Intimate partner violence is not a new phenomenon, and for most of history, it was not seen as a problem, but simply a part of life. Taming of the Shrew is considered one of Shakespeare’s comedies. Intimate partner violence was so common that terms associated with it have persisted as everyday expressions centuries later. The phrase “rule of thumb” comes from early English common laws, which explicitly allowed for “wife beating” for “correctional purposes.” In the U.S., to “limit” this behavior, states passed rule of thumb laws limiting instruments (such as whips and canes) with which men could beat their wives to no bigger than a thumb.

Intimate partner violence (IPV), also known as domestic violence, remains an epidemic in the United States; it affects more than 12 million people a year. The United Nations defines intimate partner violence as “a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.” Abuse is defined as “physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.” As the millions of people who experience IPV attempt to escape these dangerous situations, they are in need of many resources, including but not limited to legal support, financial assistance, and mental health services.

This paper argues that survivors of IPV and groups committed to helping survivors of IPV are exceptionally well-positioned for legal empowerment movement building. IPV survivors interact with the law in numerous ways, both criminal and civil, and there are currently not enough lawyers and legal practitioners to meet the needs of survivors. Training justice workers and expanding legal empowerment methods could go a long way to helping survivors of IPV find justice and rebuild their lives.

Part One of this paper provides background on the scope of IPV in the United States. and why IPV survivors’ needs have gone under-addressed for so long. Part Two provides background on the legal empowerment movement. And finally, Part Three argues that IPV is a particularly apt arena for legal empowerment.

Keep Reading Survivors into Advocates: Legal Empowerment and Intimate Partner Violence