Battered Black Women and Welfare Reform: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The book offers an in-depth ethnographic study of the experiences of women, particularly Black women, in a battered women's shelter navigating welfare reform in upstate New York. It highlights the contradictions between the goals of welfare reform—promoting economic self-sufficiency—and the realities faced by these women, especially in the context of domestic violence. By examining the intersections of poverty, race, and violence, the author reveals the systemic inequalities and biases within welfare policies and their impact on marginalized communities.