For centuries, non-intervention in the private life of the family was the state's justification for abdicating responsibility for the safety of women and children in the home. With ‘community safety’ becoming a key organising discourse of contemporary crime prevention, this has become an increasingly unsustainable perspective. Feminist research and activism from the 1970s (building on 19th-century feminism [Mill, 1869; Cobbe, 1878]) chipped away at this hegemonic construction of privacy revealing its role in covering up male abuse/violence in the home, now commonly referred to as ‘domestic violence’ (Pizzey, 1974; Dobash and Dobash, 1979; Borkowski et al, 1983; Hanmer and Saunders, 1984; Walker, 1984; Maynard, 1985; Pleck, 1987; Mama, 1989). Continuing feminist research and activism have gradually provoked changing and more appropriate responses to ‘domestic violence’ through policy development and new legislation, although more needs to be done and inadequate funding remains a key problem.

The purpose of this chapter is to look at the historical development of initiatives against ‘domestic violence’ (which have largely resulted from feminist organising), examining the influence of community safety discourse and activity. During the late 20th century, campaigns and interventions can be analysed (if rather crudely) into two main organisational strands (see Table 4.1): on the one hand, the vital influence of the women's refuge movement (inspired by radical feminism), which has, to some degree, maintained a position of working outside the state and, on the other hand, feminists and others (some with a community safety perspective) organising within and through the state. Throughout this period, crime control strategy was moving towards more generally punitive approaches (Muncie, 2000) but two other relevant strands developed concurrently: one focusing on concern for victims and the other focusing on enhancing safety at the community level. All of these strands have had an impact on responding to ‘domestic violence’, as we shall see, but this chapter will explore why community safety approaches have been less influential in relation to ‘domestic violence’ than feminist approaches.

The questions posed here are therefore: how far were community safety approaches extended to women/children experiencing ‘domestic violence’? What contradictions were raised in addressing ‘domestic violence’ using a community safety framework? And, what lessons can be learned from the unfolding development of interventions against ‘domestic violence’? First, we will consider feminist theory on the family and women's safety and how this has impacted on feminist initiatives against male violence.