Commentary on Websdale.

F: I’ve invited you here to discuss a very thought-provoking paper I’ve just read. It’s written by Neil Websdale. It’s a fictionalized account of a discussion between a researcher and a battered woman about fatality review teams. I’m interested in getting your thoughts about some of the comments made by the battered woman. Many are quite critical of the structure and process used by many teams. In a weak moment I agreed that I’d write a commentary on Websdale’s piece for Violence Against Women, so I’ll use your comments to accomplish that task. P: Wow, I’m impressed. F: Don’t be, they’re not paying me a cent. PO: Do you want our thoughts based on what we know about review teams in general, or do you want us to comment from the perspective of our own team? F: I think it’s best that we limit our comments to what we know best— our own team. Let’s start with this: The battered woman criticizes the teams for not considering deaths in a broader historical context of race and ethnicity, for not including in our reports references to “historical oppression and the complex compromises faced by women from all historical nooks and crannies” (Websdale, 2005, p. 1189).