During the past two decades, the prevalence of violence against women has been extensively studied. Citizens generally support the right of individuals to defend themselves against violence, but this support appears to break down for some women victims such as battered women who turn on their batterers. The majority of the research about rape and battering has not dealt with the issue of female victims fighting back, especially fighting that results in homicide. Recently, some explorations have been made on the historical and legal reasons affecting the perception of women acting in self-defense following physical and/or sexual abuse. However, the issues are complex and in need of further exploration. This Research Opportunities for Women Planning Grant will allow this young investigator to undertake preliminary research prior to developing a full scale project on gender politics in self-defense. The project will be the first to examine systematically the social constructions of self-defense in situations where women are physically and sexually abused. The pilot project will include open-ended interviews that ask victims, judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers about their perceptions of self-defense in various situations. The results of the interviews will be used to construct a set of vignettes that will be used in a full-scale project. This research will add valuable insight to our understanding of whether belief in rights to self-defense varies by social categories. Questions relating to whether the right to self- defense is granted differently to men and women and to black and white women have great theoretical significance. Also, such research will be of practical significance to those interested in legal reforms related to the self-defense of women against violence.
