Submitted by Seung Ah Lee to the University of Exeter as a dissertation towards the degree of Master of Arts by advanced study in Women's Studies, August 1997. This dissertation seeks to examine a potential liberation of women through researching British refuges for battered women.
Domestic violence can happen to anyone and anywhere.
It is indicative of male oppression towards women in our society. The refuge movement has re-examined the issue of domestic violence and women's oppression theoretically and has provided accommodation and support for women practically. This work consists of four major chapters. In the first and second chapters, I deal with the theoretical background of the refuge movement and raise questions about the issues affecting refuges in Britain. Through the refuge movement, the consciousness about dornestic violence has changed from a personal to a public agenda and the government has been shown to respond to the issue of domestic violence by introducing some policy changes.