GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: Weapons for the War Against Domestic Violence [Paperback]

Raoul Felder (Author), Barbara Victor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1996

The authors criticize the practices of health personnel, police, and the judicial system with regard to domestic violence, and charge that advocates for battered women hinder efforts to prevent abuse in the name of victims' rights. 35,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The analysis of domestic violence by lawyer Felder (The Lawyers' Guide to Equitable Distribution) and freelancer Victor (Friends, Lovers, Enemies) discusses why little is being done to improve the situation. The question "Why didn't she leave?" blames the victim, they assert. They show how the battered woman is also victimized by police, therapists who urge joint counseling and even the law itself, which makes a distinction between a man who beats a stranger on the street and one who beats his wife at home. Given male and female archetypes in our society, every man is a potential batterer, maintain the authors as they examine the meager attempts by local government agencies to curb domestic violence. They argue that more can be brought to bear to end what the AMA describes as "America's dirty little secret"-imprisonment, for example-but what the authors prefer to label "America's tacit little agreement."
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

This earnest polemic suffers from a fatal lack of proportion. Star divorce lawyer Felder and journalist Victor (Voice of Reason: Hanan Ashrawi and Peace in the Middle East, 1994) make a persuasive case, for those who remain unconvinced, that our criminal justice system fails to adequately protect battered women; to their credit, they not only describe the problem's many aspects but recommend solutions. Some of their ideas make sense, such as better communication among the medical, social service, and judicial systems in order to track the histories of victims and abusers. Other of their ideas merit debate, such as mandating arrests when domestic violence is a possibility, so that cops will not ignore an incident for fear of a wrongful arrest lawsuit. But the authors focus so narrowly on the need to protect victims that the surrounding reality gets blurred. They zealously demand that every injury that a medical professional suspects may involve battering be reported to authorities, as some states require in cases of suspected child abuse, and dismiss as ``politically correct'' the view, common among advocates for battered women, that an adult woman should be deemed capable of deciding whether to subject her relationship to months of police and judicial scrutiny. They endorse giving every woman who enters a hospital, for whatever reason, a detailed questionnaire to determine if she is a secret victim. They would subject a doctor or nurse to criminal liability for accepting a ``blatantly implausible'' explanation of an injury, thus enlisting people trained in medicine, not police work, as criminal investigators. They propose that every man who is charged with domestic violence, even if acquitted, be required to undergo treatment. They advocate a domestic violence program ``in every church, synagogue, school, university, government agency, and private corporation across the country.'' Reduces a tragedy to what seems a parody of well-intentioned reform. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (March 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684813629
• ISBN-13: 978-0684813622
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,453,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I WISH I COULDN'T RELATE TO THIS BOOK BUT I CAN AND IT HELPED., July 1, 2005

By 

Jaime B. Deguzman "JBD" (HONOLULU, HI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: Weapons for the War Against Domestic Violence (Paperback)

This book taught me so much. It taught me that I DO Not have to understand he batterer, I DO NOT have to make excuses for that person. I taught me that although I may feel alone in this I am unfourtionatly not alone in this and there are places to get the things I need, and there is a way out( if I find it fast enough) I learned that this was not my fault!!!! And it's ok that I "didn't just leave" because it was obvisouly NOT THAT EASY!! Or If i did leavet that wasn't good enough to just get away!

I recommend this book for anyone that has, is , or knows someone

that has delt with domestic violence anytime lives!

It helped me!!!!!