Erin Pizzey and the founding of dv shelters in the UK

Erin was comparing two things that were not alike and saying they were the same. A lot had to change for women, before you could ask women to change.

Yep. That's were I feel her logic fails.

Not her opinions on the reality of female abusers - she was raised by one, she has that perspective and works from it.

It is a simplistic summary; the situation at that time was that women had no recourse to the law, no right to leave an abuser, there was no benefits safety net, and that working class women had no education past the age of 14.
The situation women grew up, their lack of freedom, of resources and choices created their mind set.

Erin was comparing two things that were not alike and saying they were the same. A lot had to change for women, before you could ask women to change.

My understanding is Erin Pizzey was shocked at how violent some of the women themselves were.

I think there is an interesting discussion to be had about how violence begets violence in the context of intergenerational violence and the effect on children growing up in a home where violence is commonplace. My understanding is that that is a conversation Pizzey wanted to have but it wasn't encouraged.

I think some posters on here have a very rosy- tinted view of mothers and motherhood. It's been a very long time since I've seen a mother (and it always was a mother) slapping or hitting a child in public for "bad behaviour". Unfortunately the same isn't true for seeing a mother berating, shouting or belittling a child for "bad behaviour"

At its absolute worst you get cases like poor Baby P. It was clear his mother was violent and his grandmother was violent towards Peter's mother. Intergenerational violence affecting the whole family.

My understanding is Erin Pizzey eventually got fed up with the idea that violent men are born that way but violent women are the victims of their circumstances and aren't to be blamed for their behaviour. That's a simplistic summary but I think that is where she was coming from.

I'm a bit shocked that people haven't heard of her. She was hugely well known in the 70s.

I don't know what led to the fallout, although I believe she features in the Red Pill documentary and talks about it there. Regardless of what happened, I think she deserves recognition for what she achieved for women. And if there's been an attempt to write her out of history then I'm not comfortable with that at all.

I admire what she did to kickstart the refuge movement - the hands-on practical support to help women get out of a bad situation.

And her book wasn't wrong In her book Prone to Violence she argues that a significant proportion of domestic violence happens because both partners are "addicted" to the adrenalin high connected with fear and being feared. that is one of the myriad reasons women stay in abusive relationships - hard as it is to say that out loud. I see it in some of the female clients we have - clinging to what they know because of both fear and an emotional fulfilment. Until something happens to change that balance.

I also read her book. As someone who did experience DV and did go to a refuge, I didn't identify with this at all and felt ashamed and uncomfortable that others might think that.

At the same time, I recognise that women can be in that situation for all sorts of reasons, so who am I to say it never applies.

Which leads me to remember the day I abandoned feminism.

At 17 I was at Greenham, dipping my teen toes into activism
Mid 20s I was celebrating Dianne Abbot, a black woman MP? Who would have thought that possible? And Equal Pay actually worked!

And then the mid 90s happened and sudenly Girl Power was everywhere. Loud women, Ladettes. And all dressed up to the nines, being as attractive, pretty and fucking pink as possible.

So it was the first time I saw the Spice Girls and the attendant woop de woo about Girl Power. yep, the Spice Girls turned me off feminism!

I spent another 20 years then just focussing on local, small politics - food banks, local refuges, health initiatives, etc until TWAW impinged upon my consciousness... and here I still am!

She was a well known voice and face in the 70s. Great, tireless campaigner.

I'd imagine her childhood abuse at the hands of her mother has given her a different take on who abusers actually are. She was always vocal about that too.

And her book wasn't wrong In her book Prone to Violence she argues that a significant proportion of domestic violence happens because both partners are "addicted" to the adrenalin high connected with fear and being feared. that is one of the myriad reasons women stay in abusive relationships - hard as it is to say that out loud. I see it in some of the female clients we have - clinging to what they know because of both fear and an emotional fulfilment. Until something happens to change that balance.

It's hard to read her being anti feminist, but I do understand it, her perspective has a lot going for it, many women will buy into it. That's always been the danger in striving for equality.

I read that when it came out, really really interesting.

Agree that her determination to help women was inspirational and what she managed to get done incredible.

No of course she's massively important and what she did respected and applauded irrespective of opinions on how her views changed.

The photos of injuries are horrific.

The photos of the women and children together are really moving.

Refuge opened the world’s first safe house for women and children escaping domestic violence in Chiswick, West London, in 1971

www.refuge.org.uk/our-story/our-history/

Erin Pizzey was so well-known in the 70s. This going to sound odd, but it occurred to me on the thread discussing Mandy Smith how remarkable it was that Mandy Smith was so widely known of in the days of 3 television channels, no 24 hour news, no celebrity gossip and no Internet.

Erin Pizzey was the same. I was 13 in 1972 and my recollection is that Erin Pizzey was popping up everywhere in the early and mid 70s.

I can't get my head around her turnaround. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Oh yes, she's a character, alright! She did some amazing work (sadly being undone now) and it's a shame how things panned out in terms of her legacy and reputation. I had never heard of her until last year.

If I remember rightly there's an interesting bit about her in Difficult Women by Helen Lewis

www.waterstones.com/book/difficult-women/helen-lewis/9781784709730