SAFE BlogArchive

"People have a very rigid and gendered idea of what domestic violence looks like: Male power over women," explains Philadelphia attorney Lee Carpenter, "whether it comes from posters that say, "He doesn't have to hurt you,' or [phrases like] "battered women's syndrome.'" She credits the women's movement of the '70s and '80s with bringing partner abuse to the national consciousness, but explains the unforeseen downside: A lot of people in the LGBT community, experiencing what Joyce did, "don't even know that what's happening to them can be identified as domestic violence."