This book provides a research-based analysis of the dynamics of several types of violence in families and close relationships, as well as a discussion of theories relating to the experiences of victims. Drawing on recent research data and case studies from their own clinical experiences, the authors examine causes, experiences, and interventions related to violence in various forms of relationships including children, elders, and dating or married couples. Among the topics covered: Causal factors in aggression and violence Theories of survivor coping and reactions to victimization Interventions for abused women and children Other forms of family violence: elder abuse, sibling abuse, and animal cruelty Societal responses to abuse in the family Dynamics of Family and Intimate Partner Violence is a crucial resource for practitioners and students in the fields of psychology and social work, vividly tying together theory and real-life case studies.
This comprehensive overview of domestic violence against women and children in America covers the services meant to combat it, the legal approaches to prosecuting it, the public's attitudes toward it, and the successes and failures of systems meant to address it. The fight to end domestic violence consists of community-based services for battered women, laws and policies to combat the problem, a broad spectrum of frequently-innovative programs to protect or otherwise support abused women and children, a dramatic shift in media portrayals of violence against women, and a growing public critique of unacceptable forms of power and control in relationships. These volumes offer another weapon in that battle. Violence against Women in Families and Relationships takes stock of all of the ways in which legislation, programs and services, and even public attitudes have impacted victims, offenders, and communities over the last few decades. Contributors pay special attention to how race, class, and cultural differences affect the experience of abuse. They explore the efficacy of interventions, and they provide compelling real-life examples to illustrate issues and challenges. Our society has made an enormous investment in stopping abuse in families and relationships, but numerous questions still remain. Many of those questions are answered in these pages, as experts uncover the realities of domestic violence and the toll it takes on families, individuals, communities, and society at large.
WINNER OF THE HILLMAN PRIZE FOR BOOK JOURNALISM, THE HELEN BERNSTEIN BOOK AWARD, AND THE LUKAS WORK-IN-PROGRESS AWARD * A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST * LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST * ABA SILVER GAVEL AWARD FINALIST * KIRKUS PRIZE FINALIST NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2019 BY: Esquire, Amazon, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, BookRiot, Economist, New York Times Staff Critics “A seminal and breathtaking account of why home is the most dangerous place to be a woman . . . A tour de force.” -Eve Ensler "Terrifying, courageous reportage from our internal war zone." -Andrew Solomon "Extraordinary." -New York Times ,“Editors' Choice” “Gut-wrenching, required reading.” -Esquire "Compulsively readable . . . It will save lives." -Washington Post “Essential, devastating reading.” -Cheryl Strayed, New York Times Book Review An award-winning journalist's intimate investigation of the true scope of domestic violence, revealing how the roots of America's most pressing social crises are buried in abuse that happens behind closed doors. We call it domestic violence. We call it private violence. Sometimes we call it intimate terrorism. But whatever we call it, we generally do not believe it has anything at all to do with us, despite the World Health Organization deeming it a “global epidemic.” In America, domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime, and yet it remains locked in silence, even as its tendrils reach unseen into so many of our most pressing national issues, from our economy to our education system, from mass shootings to mass incarceration to #MeToo. We still have not taken the true measure of this problem. In No Visible Bruises, journalist Rachel Louise Snyder gives context for what we don't know we're seeing. She frames this urgent and immersive account of the scale of domestic violence in our country around key stories that explode the common myths-that if things were bad enough, victims would just leave; that a violent person cannot become nonviolent; that shelter is an adequate response; and most insidiously that violence inside the home is a private matter, sealed from the public sphere and disconnected from other forms of violence. Through the stories of victims, perpetrators, law enforcement, and reform movements from across the country, Snyder explores the real roots of private violence, its far-reaching consequences for society, and what it will take to truly address it.
This open access book draws on a broad study on violence against men, from both male and female partners in Norway, to contribute to the research on intimate partner violence. It identifies similarities in men's experiences and backgrounds, including in their perceptions of their own victimisation. Marianne Inez Lien and Jørgen Lorentzen argue that the traditional gender power model should be modified and supplemented, and propose that we consider violence in terms of psychological supremacy, rather than in terms of femininity and masculinity. Men's Experiences of Violence in Intimate Relationships will appeal to students and scholars across a range of areas including criminology, sociology and family violence, and gender studies.
There is a growing knowledge base in understanding the differences and similarities between women and men, as well as the diversities among women and sexualities. Although genetic and biological characteristics define human beings conventionally as women and men, their experiences are contextualized in multiple dimensions in terms of gender, sexuality, class, age, ethnicity, and other social dimensions. Beyond the biological and genetic basis of gender differences, gender intersects with culture and other social locations which affect the socialization and development of women across their life span. This handbook provides a comprehensive and up-to-date resource to understand the intersectionality of gender differences, to dispel myths, and to examine gender-relevant as well as culturally relevant implications and appropriate interventions. Featuring a truly international mix of contributors, and incorporating cross-cultural research and comparative perspectives, this handbook will inform mainstream psychology of the international literature on the psychology of women and gender.
This series of articles portrays the state of the art on family violence and abuse research, crystallizes the key interdisciplinary issues confronting family violence and abuse researchers, and suggests a research agenda for the coming years. Although the chapters cover a broad spectrum of issues and controversies in the areas of wife abuse, child abuse, the sexual abuse of children, and marital rape, a number of common themes and issues emerge. First, many chapters share the perspective that violence and abuse emerge from the nature of social arrangements. Second, even though many different forms of family violence and abuse are discussed, several chapters explore their commonalities and important etiological differences. A number of articles examine the common effects of victimization across various forms of family violence and abuse. A third common theme of the papers is an expansion of research efforts to groups other than victims of family violence and abuse, as there are chapters that examine the individual and social characteristics of male perpetrators of both wife abuse and child abuse as well as chapters that focus on the attitudes and behaviors of professional groups concerned with the treatment of victims of family violence and abuse. The volume shows great methodological diversity and attention to theoretical detail; the research presented reveals the possibility of a more comprehensive social science approach to the study of family violence and abuse. In work related to theory building, one chapter explains a number of findings in the child abuse and neglect literature using propositions derived from evolutionary biology; another paper distills propositions from several theoretical traditions. In conjunction with these efforts, several chapters report research designed to test competing propositions. Chapter references and research data are provided.
Violence against women is one factor in the growing wave of alarm about violence in American society. High-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial call attention to the thousands of lesser-known but no less tragic situations in which women's lives are shattered by beatings or sexual assault. The search for solutions has highlighted not only what we know about violence against women but also what we do not know. How can we achieve the best understanding of this problem and its complex ramifications? What research efforts will yield the greatest benefit? What are the questions that must be answered? Understanding Violence Against Women presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and identifies four areas with the greatest potential return from a research investment by increasing the understanding of and responding to domestic violence and rape: What interventions are designed to do, whom they are reaching, and how to reach the many victims who do not seek help. Factors that put people at risk of violence and that precipitate violence, including characteristics of offenders. The scope of domestic violence and sexual assault in America and its conequences to individuals, families, and society, including costs. How to structure the study of violence against women to yield more useful knowledge. Despite the news coverage and talk shows, the real fundamental nature of violence against women remains unexplored and often misunderstood. Understanding Violence Against Women provides direction for increasing knowledge that can help ameliorate this national problem.
What are the roots of violence between spouses? What do we know about the precursors of wife battering? Who are the victims of domestic abuse? This book discusses causes and precursors of violence, exploring the psychological characteristics of perpetrators of violence, and describing and evaluating potential responses to it. Each chapter contributes to the reader′s understanding of violence in intimate relationships. Part I establishes the "what" and the "who" of violence; Part II examines the interpersonal and situational context that may contribute to violent interaction, or the "how" and "why" that underlie violent interactions; and Part III provides an account of what happens to victims as a result of physical and psychological abuse and how relationships change following violent interactions. The book provides an up-to-date supplemental textbook for courses on a variety of disciplines that deal with violence between spouses and intimate spouses. CONTRIBUTORS: S. Oskamp, X. B. Arriaga, M. A. Straus, A. Holtzworth-Munroe, J. C. Meehan, K. Herron, G. L. Stuart, D. G. Dutton, S. A. Lloyd, K. E. Leonard, I. Arias, P. W. Sharps, J. Campbell, T. N. Bradbury, & E. Lawrence
