The continued importance of a feminist analysis: making gendered inequalities visible through a critique of Howard Government policy on domestic violence.

As a counter discourse, feminism puts women’s experiences and the unequal relationships of patriarchy at the forefront of analysis, highlights gender inequalities entrenched in social institutions and policy, and draws attention to the organisation of society along gender specific lines that relegates women to the private sphere and reinforces inequalities. This article argues that feminist analyses remain crucial to any critical analysis of social policy. It examines the Howard government’s neo liberal, neo conservative approach to social policy, and specifically its policy responses to family violence, which exemplifies the attacks it made on the previous gains made by women. By challenging the dominant discourse, feminist critiques can help bring about the social change necessary to transform patriarchal power structures and relations