Women's intra-gender relationships and 'disciplinary aggression' in an Australian Aboriginal community

Based on research conducted in an Aboriginal community in the north of Australia, this paper explores acts of aggression between older and younger women, specifically those in a 'child/caretaker' relationship. An examination of 24 cases of 'disciplinary aggression', most between consanguineally related women, raises the question of whether 'abuse' is really an appropriate label for these acts. In attempting to understand how Aboriginal meanings of relationship and aggression reverberate in women's experiences of their relationships, their aggression, and their victimization, the author argues that aggression in these instances can be interpreted as a kind of nurturance and that hurt is perceived as a potential of women's interaction. The paper concludes with an assessment of the implications of this perception for the construction and experience of women's intergenerational relationships.