Resistance and Submission: A Case Study of the Training of DV Advocates

ABSTRACT Domestic violence work typically happens within the confines of significant macro forces that shape most social work practice, including but not limited to neoliberalism, criminalization and professionalization. Using the concept of professional resistance, we discuss and present our case study research that sought to understand how these intersecting macro forces shape domestic violence advocacy training in Oregon. House Bill (HB) 3476 established privilege for certain communications between people seeking DV services and “certified advocates.” This bill mandates training for advocates as a condition for accessing privileged communications. Our research suggests that understanding dynamics of power, resistance, and compliance with macro forces that shape domestic violence advocacy training and consequently social work require epistemologies that move us beyond binary thinking, and toward the assemblage of complicated dynamics.