Why Domestic Violence is a Central Issue for Sociology and Social Theory: Tensions, Paradoxes, and Implications

Sociology and sociological theory have been effective in analyzing societal and institutional conflict and violence, but less so in analyzing the specifics of interpersonal violence. This article examines the sociological significance of domestic violence. This relationship, or sometimes its neglect, is underlain by several tensions and paradoxes, which in turn have broader implications for sociology, sociological theory and social theory. These matters are examined through: the possible paradox of violence and intimacy in the phenomenon of domestic violence; the importance of the naming and framing of such violence; explanation, responsibility and agency; and gender, hegemony and discourse in men’s violence to known women, as part of a multi-faceted power approach.