Abstract

Some feminists in the battered women's movement have been striving to develop egalitarian and participatory organizational structures for shelters. The Family Crisis Shelter offers a case study of a feminist shelter that is operating with a counterbureaucratic organizational structure. The shelter has a staff of nonprofessionals, makes all policy decisions through consensus, pays all staff the same wages, and imposes minimal regulations and restrictions on residents, who are encouraged to take initiative and make decisions. The article discusses the successes and limitations of the nonbureaucratic structure for implementing the feminist goals of consensus and empowerment.