The Cut - How the State Enables Domestic Abuse

The first chapter of reporter Kylie Cheung’s Survivor Injustice: State-Sanctioned Abuse, Domestic Violence, and the Fight for Bodily Autonomy makes the argument that domestic violence is a form of voter suppression. Through a wealth of research and interviews, Cheung documents how political disenfranchisement is one of the less visible, but no less treacherous, ways that abusers exert control over their partners. When a survivor’s partner blocks them from casting a ballot or tells them who to vote for, they lose the opportunity to challenge the legislators who would limit their housing and health-care options or their reproductive autonomy, cutting off the resources that could free them from the abusive relationship.

For our inaugural Beach Reads Book Club, New York writers Brock Colyar, Allison P. Davis, Emily Gould, Matthew Schneier, and Alison Willmore will discuss the season’s buzziest book, Emma Cline’s The Guest. Sign up here to join the discourse and get the newsletter.