The Duty to Retreat in Self-Defense Law and Violence against Women Journal Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Abstract; This article explores the complicated relationship between the duty to retreat in self-defense law and violence against women. It first provides an overview of self-defense law in the United States, with particular emphasis on the duty to retreat, before discussing the feminists’ position regarding self-defense law in the context of battered women who kill abusers, along with the so-called “no-retreat” rules. It then traces the history of no-retreat in U.S. law and argues that it is a complex doctrine, both liberationist and discriminatory. It also examines the tension in feminist theorizing on retreat by focusing on recent stand-your-ground controversies. The article concludes by proposing distributional analysis as a framework for feminists and other theorists to resolve the persistent tensions between the duty to retreat and gender justice.

publication date

  • July 1, 2017

has restriction

  • closed

Date in CU Experts

  • February 5, 2018 4:13 AM

Full Author List

  • Gruber A

author count

  • 1

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