This volume makes a signal contribution to understanding and treating couples' abuse. The editors and contributors expand the models of abusive relationships to include the special concerns of gay and lesbian couples, mutually violent partners, abusive women, and others. Based on a special issue of the respected journal Violence and Victims, the book shatters myths surrounding domestic violence and sheds new light on a complex social problem. This volume will be a resource for counselors, therapists, and social workers concerned with domestic violence, as well as for students and educators in the field.
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.
Decriminalizing Domestic Violence asks the crucial, yet often overlooked, question of why and how the criminal legal system became the primary response to intimate partner violence in the United States. It introduces readers, both new and well versed in the subject, to the ways in which the criminal legal system harms rather than helps those who are subjected to abuse and violence in their homes and communities, and shares how it drives, rather than deters, intimate partner violence. The book examines how social, legal, and financial resources are diverted into a criminal legal apparatus that is often unable to deliver justice or safety to victims or to prevent intimate partner violence in the first place. Envisioned for both courses and research topics in domestic violence, family violence, gender and law, and sociology of law, the book challenges readers to understand intimate partner violence not solely, or even primarily, as a criminal law concern but as an economic, public health, community, and human rights problem. It also argues that only by viewing intimate partner violence through these lenses can we develop a balanced policy agenda for addressing it. At a moment when we are examining our national addiction to punishment, Decriminalizing Domestic Violence offers a thoughtful, pragmatic roadmap to real reform.
One in three women and one in four men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Interpersonal Aggression: Complexities of Domestic and Intimate Partner Abuse is a practical guide that provides necessary information for anyone who knows or works with victims/survivors -- attorneys, law enforcement, social workers and therapists, family and friends concerned about loved ones, members of the judiciary and clergy-- basically any helping profession. Author CarolAnn Peterson takes the reader through the various aspects of a victim's encounters, the history of domestic abuse, the legal system and law enforcement, workplace domestic violence, religion, the intersection of the LGBTQ+ community and intimate partner abuse, domestic abuse in the military, how culture influences victims' decisions, batterers/abusers and intervention programs/counseling, and the impact of domestic violence on health and mental health of victims and children. Dr. Peterson examines why victims stay and when they leave, what help is available, why abusers abuse, and what happens to the children, among other important topics. She offers comfort to anyone working with victims of domestic and intimate partner abuse -- no matter the role they play.
A radical new take on the crisis of intimate abuse, Violent Partners argues that as a culture we misunderstand the root causes and basic effects of abuse, and until that changes there is no hope of fixing the problem. Dr. Linda Mills challenges assumptions, tears down myths, and offer solutions, all the while telling riveting stories of couples who have conquered violence in their relationships. In Violent Partners, she describes several programs that hold promise for addressing intimate abuse, including two nationally known and groundbreaking treatment programs-Peacemaking Circles and Healing Circles. Controversial, provocative, and accessible, Violent Partners is unlike any other book on abuse and relationships, and highlights in great detail the complexities of violence through the stories of men and women who have acknowledged their abuse and sought to do something about it. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand violence in their own relationship, friends and family members of victims and abusers, and legal and mental health practitioners looking for a new and valuable approach to treating couples in crisis.
This is the only book on the market today that focuses on the entire spectrum of emotional, verbal, sexual, and physical abuse. Written by University of Utah Clinical Associate Professor Elaine Weiss, a survivor, the book goes right to the heart of the reader and changes their perspective on this topic. She paints a clear picture of women who stay in a marriage because of their fierce loyalty and commitment to the sanctity of marriage. Elaine emphasizes the period of time after women leave their abuser and describes in detail what they go on to do with their lives. These are stories of twelve women from various walks of life, including professionals. Each a victim of domestic violence. Each escaped from her abuser. Each reclaimed her dignity, reconstructed her life, rediscovered peace. Every woman who has left an abuserevery woman who has yet to leavewill find encouragement and support in the voices of these women who broke free.
"The collected case examples are noteworthy in their diversity of presenting issue, treatment format, and outcome. As a whole, they underline our continued need to conduct assessments with clients prior to initiating treatment, to direct treatment toward identified client-related problems (in essence, meeting clients where they are), and to collect data that speaks to the effectiveness of our interventions in many settings and with many types of clients." -Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of South Alabama Shows how to successfully conduct family interventions using case studies Includes male-perpetrated, female-perpetrated, and mutual violence scenarios Presents a variety of theoretical orientations Includes discussion questions after each case study This casebook showcases a wide variety of couples and families whose domestic violence cases vary in their composition, ethnic and socioeconomic status, and mental health issues. The case authors outline different therapeutic approaches for each case, including cognitive-behavioral, family systems, feminist, problem-solving, and many others. Each account includes a thorough description of the assessment procedure, treatment goals and reasons for selecting a particular approach and an account of the course of treatment. The book is primarily intended for mental health professionals and graduate students in the fields of family therapy, counseling, and family violence; but will also be of value to anyone in the field of family violence and those concerned with domestic violence public policy, prevention, and intervention.
In this exciting new book John Hamel, author of the ground-breaking Gender-Inclusive Treatment of Intimate Partner Abuse, and Tonia Nicholls go beyond the traditional intervention theories of domestic violence practiced today. Offering alternative, unbiased and sometimes controversial views, theories, and current research, they, along with renowned contributors in the field, provide new treatment options that encompass a wide range of gender dynamics. Here are just some of the key principles covered: Interventions Should Be Based on a Thorough Unbiased Assessment Victim/Perpetrator Distinctions are Overstated, and Much Partner Abuse is Mutual Regardless of Perpetrator Gender, Child Witnesses to Partner Abuse are Adversely Affected, and are at Risk for Perpetrating Partner Abuse as Adults This new gender-inclusive approach to assessment and intervention provides a significant departure from traditional paradigms of domestic violence, and offers a much-needed awareness to effectively prevent violence in our communities today and for future generations.
The problem of domestic violence and partner abuse knows no bounds, can affect anyone, and when kept silent and in the dark can become deadly. Hon. John Leventhal presided over the Brooklyn Felony Domestic Violence Court, the first felony domestic violence part in the nation, since it opened in June 1996 until he was elevated to the appellate court January 2008. While domestic violence has greater social and legal visibility today then it did in the past, the problem still remains a massive and ongoing crisis. My Partner, My Enemy brings truth and reality to a matter that desperately needs to be addressed. So how do we help reduce and eliminate intimate partner abuse, especially when the public knows so little and much goes unreported? By exploring the severity of the problem through true case studies of violent and abusive men, and their motivations, Leventhal successfully brings to light the problem and ways to help.
