Confronting Violence

Under the Rule of Thumb: Battered Women and the Administration of Justice, 1982

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued this 1982 report examining how effectively the civil rights of women who were battered had been protected in the United States. Along with a historical survey of the federal government's response to the issue, the report made recommendations for how the federal government could provide creative guidance and assistance to women who were battered, despite the era's "diminishing resources." The report concluded that "strong action must be taken" to better serve adult victims of domestic violence and that there was a need for national coordination around the issue.

Courtesy National Library of Medicine