BUILDING A FEMINIST THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR SCREENING OF WIFE-BATTERING - KEY ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

The purpose of this paper is to identify key questions which must be a ddressed in developing a woman-centred, that is feminist, theoretical framework for-screening for wife battering in health settings. The hea lth sector has not had a positive history in addressing women's health holistically or in terms of the social context of women's lives, This is notable in relation to the issue of wife battering, where attentio n is recent but growing and responses have been varied. On the other h and, violence against women is one of the greatest threats to their he alth and, therefore, it can be argued that the health sector has a maj or role to play in ending this violence. With the recent efforts withi n the health sector, a great deal has been accomplished: we have some consensus on what is an appropriate protocol for and the roles of heal th care providers. We are also making progress in developing training programs. Several things are still lacking: an understanding of the sy stemic barriers to promotion of and participation in screening; suffic ient program evaluations; sufficient attention to issues of diversity among women; and, a theoretical framework for practice which links the se together. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.