Description: Addressing a significant void in the extant literature on the topic of domestic violence, Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System presents a thorough and arresting look at the experiences of battered women in rural communities. While living in the rural areas of Kentucky, Neil Websdale conducted his ethnographic research, and he situated the voices of rural battered women at the center of his ethnography. Websdale clearly demonstrates how rural patriarchy and the insidious "good ol' boy network" of law enforcement and local politics sustain and reproduce the subordinate, vulnerable, isolated position of many rural women. Taking into account that traditional patterns of intervention can often put women in isolated communities at further risk, Websdale recommends a coordinated multi-agency approach to dealing with rural battering that is spearheaded by state feminist agencies. Illuminating and accessible, Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System makes a most important and timely contribution to the field.

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