Family medicine has articulated a set of values that overlap feminist thinking. Despite the compatibility of these theoretical assumptions with feminist viewpoints, family medicine has failed to face the critical issue of violence against women. Personal and ideologic viewpoints can help explain the reluctance of family physicians to confront violence against women. Family medicine's reluctance to confront battering of women stems from a basic refusal to recognize a power discrepancy between men and women in society. Recommendations are made for a more feminist-oriented approach to family medicine.