Estrangement, interventions, and male violence toward female partners

The primary objective of this paper is to integrate three relatively distinct lines of research on male violence towards intimate female partners. First, the relation between conjugal violence and estrangement is examined. We found them to be positively associated, but they can vary independently. Second, we examined the association between estrangement and interventions. Estrangement was found to be associated with private, private/public and mainly public interventions depending upon the level of estrangement. High levels of estrangement are strongly but not invariably associated with ending the relationship. Third, we reviewed the link between interventions and violence. Interventions which empower battered female partners are most effective in ending male partner violence. Taken together, the findings tend not to support hypotheses derived from the theory of male proprietariness. Implications for social policy are discussed in the final segment.