In 1989, Dworkin wrote an article about her life as a battered wife in the Netherlands, "What Battery Really Is", in response to fellow radical feminist Susan Brownmiller, who had argued that Hedda Nussbaum, a battered woman, should have been indicted for her failure to stop Joel Steinberg from murdering their adoptive daughter.
En 1989, Dworkin escribiu un artigo sobre a súa vida como esposa maltratada nos Países Baixos, «What Battery Really Is», en resposta á feminista radical Susan Brownmiller, que defendera que Hedda Nussbaum, unha muller maltratada, debería ter sido acusada pola súa incapacidade de deter Joel Steinberg de asasinar a súa filla adoptiva.