This article reports on a study that used focus groups to determine what helps battered women get out of their abusive relationships and survive and grow once they have left their abusers. The principles for social work practice with battered women that were derived from this research are based on the women's accounts of their experiences and of their needs.
In the debate on welfare reform, stereotypes of women on welfare have resurfaced, and most proposals for reform are designed to modify and regulate women's behaviors. This article, based on information obtained in focus groups of recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, examines how women manage the stigma of being welfare mothers and what they think about "cheating" the system. The most striking difference between recipients of the 1990s and of the 1960s is the belief of current recipients that they are entitled to governmental support as long as they are attempting to better their own lives.
Shelters for battered women have been idealized as collectivist organizations that empower residents and staff alike. Qualitative research at a battered women's shelter indicates that despite an implicit philosophy of empowerment , a shelter is indeed an organization like any other. Two separable organizational structures were identified: an egalitarian , collectivist structure for the relationships among staff members and a hierarchical structure for the relationships between staff members and residents . To prevent an inadvertent return to traditional patriarchal structures that oppress women , feminist social workers must continuously assess how ideology affects the organizational environment in which services are delivered .Shelters, as organizations that provide refuge to battered women and their children, were strongly influenced by the feminist ideology and activism of the 1970s. Wife battering was seen as deeply rooted in the patriarchal system that sustained the imbalances in power between individual men and women and allowed hierarchical structures to oppress the powerless (see Dobash & Dobash, 1979;Schecter, 1982). Therefore, as they embarked on developing services, feminists sought not only to Authors' Note: The authors wish to thank James Taylor for his helpful comments on this article, and thank the residents and staff of the shelter for their contributions.
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