At home in the law

"The past few decades have witnessed a revolution in the way that law shapes the idea and reality of the home. Jeannie Suk shows how legal feminism has replaced the traditional notion of home as a man's castle with the idea that home is a place where women are subordinated to male control and need government protection. Changes designed to protect women from domestic violence have developed into a comprehensive legal regime that treats the home as a site of potential or actual violence. The unexpected consequences of this legal reform have redistributed power among women, men, and the state." "Suk examines major developments in contemporary U.S. law pertaining to domestic violence, self-defense, privacy, sexual autonomy. and property in order to illuminate the changing relation between home and the law. Increasing state control has led to expanded definitions of what constitutes violence, mandatory arrest of those suspected of domestic violence, and obligatory criminal charges in place of prosecutorial discretion. Protection orders that prohibit all contact between suspected abusers and their partners are designed to end relationships - even over victims' objections. The law's rapidly changing picture of the home has fundamentally moved the boundary between public and private space. The result, unintended by domestic violence reformers, is to reduce the autonomy of women in relation to the state."--Jacket.