In their ground-breaking book Women and the Law, first published in 1984, Susan Atkins and Brenda Hoggett (now Lady Hale) set out to examine how women were faring under the law. They suggested that the law reflects and is deeply implicated in constructing and maintaining men’s dominance, but went on to say that the law could be used to break down that construction provided women learnt how to use the law and influence it. Yet, in relation to domestic violence, they observed that, while there had been ‘important advances’, ‘the practical benefits resulting from new legal remedies have always been less than was hoped’.