Violence Against Women 4(4) 1998 : 457-90

This article examines the various ways that the social science community has understood partner abuse. The author takes a poststructuralist perspective when reviewing different theories that have been used to explain wife abuse. The paper identifies five discourses: pathology; expressive tension; instrumental power; social system; and learned behaviour. The author discusses each discourse and the implications each one has for policy and practice, pointing out that the definitions and implications of the different discourses are often incompatible, if not in conflict.