PAST ARTICLES AND EDITORIAL BOARDS The Battered Woman and Homelessness
Gretchen P. Mullins
3 J.L. Pol'y 237 (1994)
Abused women must often weigh living with violence in their homes against the insecurity of living on the streets. Many women are also unfairly held responsible by society and the law for controlling the violence they endure. Thus, battered women are stigmatized while the government evades a duty to take action. Mullins "focuses on the responsibility of the judiciary and the legislature to prevent battered women from becoming homeless when they attempt to escape their abusive partners."

Although an effective American movement against domestic violence has initiated legal reform concerning battered women, the judiciary and the legislature are reluctant to interfere with domestic violence cases. Further changes must be implemented in order to sensitize the legal community to the needs of battered women. Current methods of preventing homelessness caused by woman battering include judicial response, emergency shelters, long-term housing strategies and use of the Violence Against Women Act of 1993.