Arguing that law must be looked at holistically, this book investigates the 'hidden gender' of the so-called neutral or objective legal principles that structure the law addressing violence against women. Adopting an explicitly feminist perspective, it investigates how legal responses to violence against women presuppose, maintain and perpetuate a certain context that may not in fact reflect women's experiences. Carline and Easteal draw upon relevant legislation, case law and secondary studies from a range of territories, including Australia, England and Wales, the United States, Canada and Europe, to contextualize and critique different policy responses. They go on to examine the potential and limits of law, making recommendations for best practice models of policymaking and law reform. Aiming to help improve government, community and legal responses to women who experience violence, Shades of Grey - Domestic and Sexual Violence Against Women: Law Reform and Society will assist law-makers, academics, policymakers and a wider audience in understanding the complexities of violence against women.

Overwhelmingly, it is women who are the victims of domestic violence and this book puts women s experiences of domestic violence at its centre, whilst acknowledging their many diverse and complex identities.

Concentrating on the various forms of domestic abuse and its occurrence and manifestations within different contexts, it argues that gender is centrally implicated in the unique factors that shape violence across all these areas. Individual chapters outline the experiences of:

• Mothers
• Older women
• Women with religious affiliations
• Refugee women
• Rural women
• Aboriginal women
• Women in same-sex relationships
• Women with intellectual disabilities.

Exploring how domestic violence across varying contexts impacts on different women s experiences and understandings of abuse, this innovative work draws on post-structural feminist theory and how these ideas view, and potentially allow, gendered explanations of domestic violence. "Domestic Violence in Diverse Contexts" is suitable for academics and researchers interested in issues around violence and gender. "

Over the past 25 years, developing coordinated responses to intimate partner violence and sexual violence has improved both perpetrator accountability, and victim safety and self-determination. However, preventing intimate partner violence and sexual violence from occurring is beyond the ability of any one type of organization. Preventing this violence requires a network of individuals, groups and organizations who coordinate and assess their efforts on an ongoing basis. This volume provides theoretical and practical guidance for the development of state and local prevention systems that hold the potential to eliminate persistent social problems. The development of prevention systems was informed by the data-driven public health model, systems theory and the ecological systems perspective. Strengthening Systems to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence offers guidance on how to gain participation of the right partners in developing a prevention system, and how to focus the work of that system on the critical areas of planning, implementation and capacity building. The guidance, resources and experience shared in this important collection will be invaluable to all those working towards the prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. This book is based on a special issue of the Journal of Family Social Work.

Domestic violence is a major public health concern, affecting millions worldwide. It is underreported, often devastating and sometimes ends in murder. In Toxic Couples: The Psychology of Domestic Violence, Anna Motz integrates psychological and criminological data with clinical illustrations and discussion of current high-profile cases. She examines the complex manifestations and multiple causes of intimate partner violence. Motz disentangles the roles played by those involved and examines the addictive nature of these damaging partnerships. The book describes various forms of abuse, including physical, sexual and emotional, and analyses how intimate partner violence can escalate to murder. She explores important factors including: the role of addiction; homelessness and vulnerability; the intergenerational transmission of abuse; sadomasochistic relationships; honour-based violence. The book emphasizes the significance of female- as well as male-perpetrated violence and outlines the powerful impact on the children of abusive parents, extending the clinical awareness of professionals working with those affected. Toxic Couples: The Psychology of Domestic Violence is ideal for clinicians working with the victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence, for students of psychology, gender studies and social care courses and for anyone interested in the psychological forces behind violence in relationships. ]

Restorative Justice for Domestic Violence Victims uses a rich and detailed set of interviews and complementary survey data to make a strong case for introducing restorative justice principles into the existing menu of services for victims of domestic violence. Guided primarily by concerns of victim safety, domestic violence theorists and practitioners have been wary of introducing restorative justice principled programs in the domestic violence arena. While remaining cognizant of safety concerns, Marilyn Fernandez weaves together the theories, concepts, and research in the restorative justice and domestic violence traditions and uses the voices of domestic violence victims to make a case for restorative justice programs. In the process, Fernandez helps readers, academicians, students, and practitioners, understand the complex nature of domestic violence and the lives of its victims.

As mental-health professionals see increasing numbers of women arrested for domestic violence, the need for effective resources also increases. Choosing Nonviolence fills this void, providing an interactive and comprehensive treatment tool.

If you are a group leader, Choosing Nonviolence will provide materials to deepen your current group curriculum. Interactive lessons and exercises cover important topics such as trust, respect, parenting, substance abuse, safety planning, and achieving nonviolence. Each chapter contains stories from actual group members to illuminate important dynamics as well as "tool" exercises designed to provide an opportunity for your group members to learn vital skills.

If you are a group member, you will find this book to be an important supplement to the work you are doing in group. The personal stories from women who have been in group will show you how they have stumbled and succeeded on their path to change. You will get to learn from these experiences and will see how you can integrate the lessons into your own life. The exercises will enhance your participation in group, and the homework assignments will deepen your growth outside your counseling time.

This book explores changing patterns of domestic violence in Asia. Based on extensive original research in the Maldives, it argues that forces of globalisation, consumerism, Islamism and democratisation are changing the nature of domestic relations, with shifting ideas surrounding gender and Islam being particularly significant. The book points out that domestic violence has been relatively low in the Maldives in comparison with other Asian countries, as a result of, the book argues, a history of relatively equal gender relations, an ideology of masculinity that is associated with calmness and rationality where violence is not considered an acceptable means of dealing with problems, and flexible marriage and divorce practices. The book shows how these factors are being undermined by new ideas which emphasise the need for wifely obedience, increasing gender inequality and the right of husbands to be coercive.

Intimate partner violence is now recognised as a serious human rights abuse and increasingly as an important public health problem with severe consequences for women's physical, mental and sexual health. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of intimate partner violence is an essential aspect of good-quality social work practice. This is an accessible introduction to the complexities of social work practice with abused women, as well as men. Designed for those new to practice in this area, it outlines and explores some of the key issues from an international perspective, such as the role and responsibilities of a social worker, prevalence rates and research around causes and consequences. It includes chapters on working with women with additional vulnerabilities, working with perpetrators, impacts on physical and mental health, child protection issues, assessment and intervention strategies, and long-term approaches. Social Work and Intimate Partner Violence is an up-to-date book bringing together all the most important information in the area for social workers, and is essential reading for all students and newly qualified professionals.

Acclaimed activist and scholar Gill Hague recounts the inspiring story of the domestic violence movement in the UK and beyond from the 1960s onwards in this captivating book. Memories, poems and interviews with activists, practitioners and abuse survivors shed new light on a period of immense change, shaped by a generation of feminist pioneers. From the women's liberation movement until now, this book showcases the campaigning zeal with which policies, services and awareness-raising on gendered violence in the UK and across the world were built, including for Black and minority women. This fascinating history will inform and inspire new ways forward within the domestic violence movement.

Domestic violence has emerged as a significant public policy issue of transnational character and mobilization in the postcommunist era in Europe and Eurasia, as global forces have interacted with the agendas of governments, local and international women s groups, and human rights activists. The result of extensive collaboration among scholars and activist-practitioners many from postcommunist countries this volume examines the development of state policies, changes in public perceptions, and the interaction of national and international politics."

Understanding Domestic Violence not only highlights and reexamines the different challenges that we continue to face in effectively addressing issues of domestic violence but provides innovated approaches to interventions that are more in keeping with the complex nature of domestic violence. This book provides a comprehensive and multifaceted examination of conditions and factors involved in domestic violence, including psychological, sociocultural, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic issues. The authors look at domestic violence through the trauma lens and intersectionality to develop intervention strategies within that context. Statistics and clinical examples from the field highlight unique culturally-based issues related to domestic violence among Latino, African American, and Arab Muslim communities, issues with woman perpetrators, and violence in the LGBTQ community, to name a few. In the end, Understanding Domestic Violence offers opportunities for the reader to engage in further discussion of the poignant issues discussed in the book, with the invitation to become part of the solution.

Queer lives remain at the margins of most academic inquiry into domestic violence. When same-sex violence is considered, it is most commonly as an added on, without close attention to the specificity and meaning of violence within the lives of lesbian/ gay/ bisexual/ transgender/Two-Spirit and queer people (LGBTQ). This edited volume seeks to change this discourse by bringing together the most innovative research about intimate partner violence that is specific to the lives of LGBTQ people. Including contributions based on research conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, the volume is framed around central themes: conceptualizing violence; exploring differing spaces and lived experiences of violence; and the ethical challenges of responding to violence. The contributors also consider issues of race, class, gender, sexuality and other social differences, moving beyond a simple gender lens to one involving a framework of intersectionality.

Caught between violent partners and the bureaucratic complications of the US Immigration system, many immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to abuse. For two years, Roberta Villalon volunteered at a nonprofit group that offers free legal services to mostly undocumented immigrants who had been victims of abuse. Her innovative study of Latina survivors of domestic violence explores the complexities at the intersection of immigration, citizenship, and violence, and shows how inequality is perpetuated even through the well-intentioned delivery of vital services. Through archival research, participant observation, and personal interviews, Violence Against Latina Immigrants provides insight into the many obstacles faced by battered immigrant women of color, bringing their stories and voices to the fore. Ultimately, Villalon proposes an active policy advocacy agenda and suggests possible changes to gender violence-based immigration laws, revealing the complexities of the lives of Latina immigrants as they confront issues of citizenship, gender violence, and social inequalities.

Domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, and sexual exploitation through prostitution, pornography and trafficking can have many significant adverse impacts on a survivor's health and wellbeing, in the short, medium and long-term. Taking a life-course approach, the book explores what is known about appropriate treatment responses to those who have experienced, and those who perpetrate, domestic and sexual violence and abuse. The book also examines key factors that are important in understanding how and why different groups experience heightened risks of domestic and sexual violence and abuse, namely: gender and sexuality; race and culture; disability; and abuse by professionals. Drawing together results from specially commissioned research, the views of experts by experience, experts by profession and the published research literature, the book argues that sufficient is already known to delineate an appropriate public health framework, encompassing primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, to successfully tackle the important public health issue represented by domestic and sexual violence and abuse. Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse equips health and social care professionals and services to identify and respond to the needs of affected individuals with a view to the prevention and early intervention.

Gendered Justice takes a unique, multi-layered look at the various elements that factor into our understanding of domestic violence and how the criminal justice system handles situations of domestic violence. The book focuses primarily on the role of gender, but also considers socio-economic status, race, age, education, and the relationship between the victim and criminal. Illustrated with case studies throughout, the book introduces major themes, such as the social construction of gender and victimology, as well as topics such as the portrayal of intimate partner violence in the media and how it shapes our understanding of violence.

Gendered Justice takes a unique, multi-layered look at the various elements that factor into our understanding of domestic violence and how the criminal justice system handles situations of domestic violence. The book focuses primarily on the role of gender, but also considers socio-economic status, race, age, education, and the relationship between the victim and criminal. Illustrated with case studies throughout, the book introduces major themes, such as the social construction of gender and victimology, as well as topics such as the portrayal of intimate partner violence in the media and how it shapes our understanding of violence.

What can schools and social care workers do to help children affected by domestic violence?

Large numbers of children are affected by domestic violence. The problem crosses every social class and culture. It causes distress and anxiety in children and adversely affects their learning and play, as well as their behaviour, wellbeing and attendance.

Education staff may know of a child or family in crisis, want to help, yet feel outside their comfort zone, grappling with a complex issue not covered in their training. This book describes the impact of domestic violence on children and provides support for education and social care professionals. It takes heavy workloads into account and suggests practical ways of meeting the needs of pupils who come from difficult home backgrounds.

The authors provide guidance and advice on:

• identifying and responding to signs of distress
• helping pupils to talk about and make sense of their experiences
• the impact on parenting and how parents can be supported
• the needs of young people in refuges and temporary accommodation
• pupil safety and government safeguarding guidelines
• educating young people and the community about domestic violence
• specialist domestic violence services and other agencies that support schools.

Domestic Violence and Children draws on the expertise of a wide range of professionals, including specialist domestic violence children's workers and counsellors, psychologists, teachers, mentors and family support workers. It provides essential help and information to all children's service directorates, as well as a range of professionals in education, social care, health and the voluntary sector.

The abuse of women and children transcends geographical boundaries as well as economic, cultural, religious, political, and social divisions. Comprised of the work of more than 20 academics and practitioners from around the world, Criminal Abuse of Women and Children documents the atrocities that have been committed against these victims from ancient to modern times. It examines the causes of such abuse and provides a global survey of what forms of abuse exist and how cases are handled in various parts of the world.

International Experts Survey Patterns of Abuse

Following an introduction to the historical antecedents and theoretical explanations of criminal abuse, the contributors review efforts at control and prevention. They focus on informal control mechanisms, religious intervention, and the criminal justice system, and highlighting the limitations that are inherent in these attempts. The remainder of the text consists mainly of case studies covering the various facets of abuse in numerous countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. The contributors also explore the role of community policing and supply a critical assessment of how American police practices may contribute to the continued victimization of women and children.

A Call to Action to End the Scourge of Victimization

A comprehensive analysis of the worldwide problem of the exploitation of women and children, the book elevates this topic to a subject worthy of academic discourse. It underlines the need for concerted global action and intervention at the national, regional, and local level.

After centuries of being considered a private matter in most societies, violence and its profound effect on the physical health, mental health, and social well-being of victims and their families, as well as on the assailants themselves, has started to take centre stage as a public issue of worldwide concern.

Health and social service providers are in pivotal positions to provide preventive and restorative services to those affected by violent and abusive behaviour. This comprehensive textbook presents theoretical background and practical strategies for doing so, providing a solid knowledge base for good practice in this area. It emphasizes the interdisciplinary aspects of violence and victim/survivor care and addresses violence over the lifespan, covering:

• child sexual and physical abuse
• sexual assault of adults
• battering and emotional abuse of intimate partners
• elder abuse
• perpetrators of violence and abuse
• violence in learning and work environments
• vicarious trauma and self-care
• interconnections between various forms of violence, including socially approved violence in the media and in war.

This text is an essential resource for qualified practitioners wanting to learn more about this area and for students starting out in health and social care. Each chapter includes case studies and thinking points, and suggestions for application in practice settings. A companion website provides materials for students and educators, enabling the inclusion of violence issues in an already busy curriculum.

Lee Ann Hoff is a nurse-anthropologist and crisis specialist. She has published widely and is the author of the award-winning textbook People in Crisis. She has extensive experience as an educator, consultant, clinician, and crisis service manager.

Most therapists have experience with wives, girlfriends, and children of violent men, never suspecting that domestic violence offenders can be women too. In Domestic Violence Treatment for Abusive Women, Bowen challenges us to re-think our gender and violence constructs and guides clinicians through the emerging field of treatment of female abusers. Unlike other books designed for male clients that may be adapted to women, this book is specifically written for use with women, with handouts and exercises created from the author's own clinical experience. It is deliberately designed to give clinicians knowledge to deal with all aspects of female domestic violence, from dealing with their first client to filling out paperwork correctly. The first part of the book is dedicated to defining female violence and helping readers overcome pre-existing gender stereotypes. The second part provides a framework for everything a therapist needs in order to set up and facilitate a domestic violence treatment program for women. As a whole, Domestic Violence Treatment for Abusive Women helps the licensed mental health professional understand women's domestic violence and offers step-by-step direction for successful therapy.

Backs Against the Wall: Battered Women's Resistance Strategies tackles several controversial aspects involved with intimate partner violence (IPV)-namely the approaches many victims use when resisting their oppressors. This sensitive and sensible feminist perspective concerning battered women's use of different resistance strategies, and the reasons why they use them, also focuses on ways to support victims through intervention and prevention strategies. Leading experts provide current research, revealing viewpoints, and convincing assertions about the victims of IPV.

This book powerfully refutes the sweeping assertions made by today's antifeminist-based mindset that women are as violent as men in cases of IPV perpetration. This insightful source provides strong evidence of the different resistance strategies that battered women use in response to multiple oppressions, including IPV, in the case against the gender parity argument-that may very well be politically motivated. The text provides extensive references and several figures and tables to clearly present data.

This book is a valuable resource for activists, educators, students, health providers, justice system workers, advocates, and researchers.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma.

Backs Against the Wall: Battered Women's Resistance Strategies tackles several controversial aspects involved with intimate partner violence (IPV)-namely the approaches many victims use when resisting their oppressors. This sensitive and sensible feminist perspective concerning battered women's use of different resistance strategies, and the reasons why they use them, also focuses on ways to support victims through intervention and prevention strategies. Leading experts provide current research, revealing viewpoints, and convincing assertions about the victims of IPV. This book powerfully refutes the sweeping assertions made by today's antifeminist-based mindset that women are as violent as men in cases of IPV perpetration. This insightful source provides strong evidence of the different resistance strategies that battered women use in response to multiple oppressions, including IPV, in the case against the gender parity argument-that may very well be politically motivated. The text provides extensive references and several figures and tables to clearly present data. This book is a valuable resource for activists, educators, students, health providers, justice system workers, advocates, and researchers. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma.

Feminist Advocacy: Gendered Organizations in Community-based Responses to Domestic Violence examines victim advocacy through a gendered organizations perspective. This monograph draws from in-depth interviews with twenty-six domestic violence victim advocates to examine their experiences with gendered policies and practices in the justice system, child protective services, and shelters. Andrea J. Nichols explores justice system interventions related to pro-arrest, dual arrest, no-drop prosecution, protective orders, and the actions of police and judges. In addition, she examines policies and practices related to child protective services that negatively affect battered women, such as charges for failure to protect and lost custody. Nichols also explores the most contentiously debated shelter policies, including curfew, confidentiality, substance abuse, entrance requirements, admitting adolescent boys, and mandatory classes. Drawing from advocates' narratives of their experiences, Feminist Advocacy bears significant implications for policy and practice in community-based responses to domestic violence. This book will prove especially valuable to anyone who studies or works in the fields of social work, human services, criminal justice, or criminology, including advocates, practitioners, students, academic researchers, and those interested in intimate partner violence.

When Zoe was taken into care at the age of 13, she thought she was finally going to escape from the cruel abuse she had suffered throughout her childhood. Then social services placed her in a residential unit known to be 'a target for prostitution', and suddenly Zoe's life was worse than it had ever been before. Abused and ostracized by her mother, humiliated by her father's sexual innuendos, physically assaulted and bullied by her eldest brother, even as a young child Zoe thought she deserved the desperately unhappy life she was living. 'I've sharpened a knife for you,' her mother told her the first time she noticed angry red wounds on her daughter's arms. And when Zoe didn't kill herself, her mother gave her whisky, which she drank in the hope that it would dull the miserable, aching loneliness of her life. One day at school Zoe showed her teacher the livid bruises that were the result of her mother's latest physical assault and within days she was taken into care. Zoe had been at Denver House for just three weeks when an older girl asked if she'd like to go to a party, then took her to a house where there were just three men. Zoe was a virgin until that night, when two of the men raped her. Having returned to the residential unit in the early hours of the morning, when she told a member of staff what had happened to her, her social worker made a joke about it, then took her to get the morning-after pill. For Zoe, the indifference of the staff at the residential unit seemed like further confirmation of what her mother had always told her - she was worthless. Before long, she realised that the only way to survive in the unit was to go to the 'parties' the older girls were paid to take her to, drink the drinks, smoke the cannabis and try to blank out what was done to her when she was abused, controlled and trafficked around the country. No action was taken by the unit's staff or social workers when Zoe asked for their help, and without anyone to support or protect her, the horrific abuse continued for the next few years, even after she left the unit. But in her heart Zoe was always a fighter. This is the harrowing, yet uplifting story, of how she finally broke free of the abuse and neglect that destroyed her childhood and obtained justice for her years of suffering.

He'd been her friend for years. He said he loved her. Then she realised she didn't know him at all... When everything seemed to be falling apart in Sophie's life, she was thankful for her friend Kas, who was always at the end of a phone, ready to listen and to offer comfort and advice. Her father's cold dislike of her and then her parents' divorce had left her with a deep distrust of men. But, gradually, Kas made her believe there was at least one man who truly cared about her. But she was wrong. At first when Sophie went to stay for a few days with Kas in Italy, he was kind and caring, as he'd always been. But three days after she arrived, everything changed. His eyes were cold as he described the things he expected her to do 'for love'. But soon Sophie's bewilderment turned to fear as he punched and shouted at her and threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't do exactly as she was told...to sell her body on the streets to pay off Kas's debts. Terrified of Kas, the police and the men whose pleasures she was forced to satisfy, Sophie worked seven nights a week for the next six months on the dark and lonely streets of a town in northern Italy. Subjected regularly to Kas's verbal, mental and physical abuse, she knew she would never escape. And then, one day, after she'd been admitted to hospital with stomach pains - and knowing that Kas would kill her if he found out - she dared to phone her mother. But who would reach her first?