Based on his studies of over 9,000 families, Murray A Straus, the foremost researcher on family violence in the world, discusses the extent to which parents in the United States use corporal punishment (such as spanking and slapping) and its effects on their children. The question of whether corporal punishment is an effective method of discipline is hotly debated. Straus contends that this believed-to-be-"minor" form of physical violence is precursor to much violence that plagues our world.

Children who are spanked quickly learn that love and violence can go hand in hand. Since spanking is generally done by loving, caring parents -- for the child's own good -- a child can learn that hitting is "morally right". Straus describes what he has learned through two decades of research: children who are spanked are from two to six times more likely to be physically aggressive, to become juvenile delinquents, and later, as adults, to use physical violence against their spouses, to have sadomasochistic tendencies, and to suffer from depression. Straus alerts parents to these risks, and argues that spanking adversely affects not only the children who are subjected to it but society as a whole.

This groundbreaking book, now available in paperback with a substantive new introduction and new concluding chapter, is essential reading for parents as well as teachers, lawyers, and judges. Professionals in fields such as social work, child protection, delinquency and criminology, psychology, and politics will find it of critical importance.

The 1990s has witnessed a resurgence of interest and concern in the issue of domestic violence. While women are predominantly targets of this violence, there is now a recognition that children are also significantly affected by violence towards their mothers. This report explores the problems and opportunities presented for child protection workers responding to child abuse that occurred in the context of violence towards the child(ren)'s mother. This particular aspect of domestic violence intervention is frequently overlooked as issues such as policing, child contact, interagency working and offender programmes have gained precedence in the development of intervention strategies. The responses of social services departments to child abuse arising in the context of domestic violence remain some of the most contentious and controversial in this area. This report: gives a detailed account of social work practice in the area of domestic violence, using many case examples which illustrate the barriers to effective intervention; looks in particular at the needs of Asian families in the context of domestic violence and child abuse; recognises the difficulties of developing sensitive child welfare practice in an area where there has been a traditional separation of services for women and services for children; provides good practice examples for overcoming the traditional difficulties in this area. This report is important reading for practitioners, policy makers and managers in social services, and their equivalents in a range of other agencies involved in child protection. It is also valuable reading for social work academics and students interested in the area of domestic violence.

A comprehensive guide to recognizing and dealing with domestic abuse and violence, this book outlines six different types of domestic abuse and provides a practical checklist of actions that can be taken to get out of the situation. 55 charts. 20 worksheets.

This edited collection addresses intimate partner violence, risk and security as global issues. Although intimate partner violence, risk and security are intimately connected they are rarely considered in tandem in the context of global security. Yet, intimate partner violence causes widespread physical, sexual and/or psychological harm. It is the most common type of violence against women internationally and is estimated to affect 30 per cent of women worldwide. Intimate partner violence has received significant attention in recent years, animating political debate, policy and law reform as well as scholarly attention. In bringing together a range of international experts, this edited collection challenges status quo understandings of risk and questions how we can reposition the risk of IPV, and particularly the risk of IPH, as a critical site of global and national security. It brings together contributions from a range of disciplines and international jurisdictions, including from Australia and New Zealand, United Kingdom, Europe, United States, North America, Brazil and South Africa. The contributions here urge us to think about perpetrators in more nuanced and sophisticated ways with chapters pointing to the structural and social factors that facilitate and sustain violence against women and IPV. Contributors point out that states not only exacerbate the structural conditions producing the risks of violence, but directly coerce and control women as both citizens and non-citizens. States too should be understood as collaborators and facilitators of intimate partner violence. Effective action against intimate partner violence requires sustained responses at the global, state and local levels to end gender inequality. Critical to this end are environmental issues, poverty and the divisions, often along 'race' and ethnic lines, underpinning other dimensions of social and economic inequality.

Violence in Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partnerships provides a comprehensive analysis of same-sex domestic violence, addressing the major theoretical and treatment issues for both its victims and perpetrators. Its contents raise awareness among social service providers, of the problem of same-sex domestic violence and emphasize the need for special services for both victims and perpetrators. The publication of Violence in Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partnerships signifies the growing official recognition of domestic violence within lesbian and gay relationships as a social problem worthy of serious attention and intervention.Editors Renzetti and Miley begin by providing readers with an overview of the problem of same-sex domestic violence and the responses of the domestic violence movement and other social service providers. Chapters then move to discussions of the current scarcity of services available to lesbian and gay victims and perpetrators of domestic violence and then evaluate specific treatment modalities for these client groups. Significantly, the special needs of lesbians and gays of color and those with HIV/AIDS are discussed. Chapters contain: an historical overview of the study of same-sex domestic violence a review and evaluation of theoretical explanations of same-sex domestic violence an analysis of major problems in service provisions to gay and lesbian victims of domestic violence suggestions for and evaluations of specific treatment modalities an analysis of how racism intersects with homophobia to exacerbate the consequences of domestic violence an analysis of the role of HIV/AIDS in same-sex domestic violenceContributors to this volume were actively addressing the problem of same-sex domestic violence before it was officially "discovered." Some were motivated by their experiences as victims and survivors of same-sex domestic violence, others by their concern about domestic violence in general. As a compilation of the writings of academics, clinicians, advocates, and activists, Violence in Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partnerships bridges disciplinary and occupational boundaries and promotes a dialogue across fields and specialties.Violence in Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partnerships is unique in that it is the only book available which comprehensively addresses the social service needs of gay and lesbian domestic violence victims and perpetrators. Specific suggestions are offered for improving service providers' responses to gay and lesbian victims of domestic violence. Social workers, counselors, practitioners and clinicians will find it especially useful, given that it addresses the effectiveness of particular treatment modalities for lesbian and gay victims and perpetrators.

In this study of late nineteeth-century moral reform, Peggy Pascoe examines four specific cases--a home for Chinese prostitutes in San Francisco, California; a home for polygamous Mormon women in Salt Lake City, Utah; a home for unmarried mothers in Denver, Colorado; and a program for American Indians on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska--to tell the story of the women who established missionary rescue homes for women in the American West. Focusing on two sets of relationships--those between women reformers and their male opponents, and those between women reformers and the various groups of women they sought to shelter--Pascoe traces the gender relations that framed the reformers' search for female moral authority, analyzes the interaction between women reformers and the women who entered the rescue homes, and raises provocative questions about historians' understanding of the dynamics of social feminism, social control, and intercultural relations.

Why do men act violently toward women? What are the consequences of "normal violence," not only for women and children but also for the men who instigate it, and for the societies that sanction it? The Evils of Polygyny examines one powerful structural factor that instigates, enforces, and replicates patterns of male dominance: the practice of polygyny. From more than a decade's worth of study, Rose McDermott has produced a book that uncovers the violent impact of polygyny on women, children, and the nation-state and adds fundamentally to the burgeoning focus on gender concerns in political psychology and international relations. Integrating these fields, as well as domestic policy and human rights, the author urges us to address the question of violence toward women and children. If we do not, a system that tells young women they must marry whom their elders dictate and devote their entire lives to serving others will continue to plague the contemporary world, and restrict development. The timely nature of McDermott's book reflects the mission of the Easton Lectures at the Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality at the University of California, Irvine, which charges its lecturers to produce work that is creative, controversial, and cutting-edge, and offers substantial real-world impact. The Evils of Polygyny, edited by Kristen Renwick Monroe, includes commentary from Valerie Hudson, Robert Jervis, and B. J. Wray. The book does just that, providing a coherent analysis of sexual violence and a provocative and chilling analysis of one of the major problems of the contemporary world.

Despite changes to laws and policies across most western democracies intended to combat violence to women, intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) remains discouragingly commonplace. Domestic Violence and Psychology: Critical Perspectives on Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse showcases women's harrowing stories of living with and leaving violent partners, offering a psychological perspective on domestic violence and developing a theoretical framework for examining the context, intentions and experiences in the lives of people who experience abuse and abuse themselves. Nicolson provides an analysis of survivors' real-life stories, and thoughts about IPVA. The attitudes of the general public and health and social care professionals are also presented and discussed. The theoretical perspective employs three levels of evidence - the material (context), discursive (explanations) and intrapsychic (emotional). Domestic Violence and Psychology is divided into three parts accordingly, engaging qualitative data from interviews and quantitative data from surveys to illustrate these theoretical perspectives. Although many pro-feminist sociologists and activists firmly believe that any attempt to explain domestic violence potentially condones it, this book takes up the challenge to make a compelling case demonstrating how we need to widen understanding of the psychology of survivors and their intimate relationships if we are to defeat IPVA. The new edition has been updated to include the latest developments in IPVA research and practice, and in particular examines the impact of a violent and abusive family life on all members, including children. This is essential reading for students, academics and professionals interested in domestic abuse, as well as professionals and practitioners, including psychologists, social workers, the police, prison officers, probation staff, policy makers, and charity workers.

This innovative book aims to further our understanding of violence in intimate relationships between men and women by combining research from psychology, cultural studies, and biology. The author examines why western culture often justifies and encourages primitive forms of relationships based on domination and submission and considers not only the cultural influences, but also the biological aspects, in their interaction. The book clarifies the biological roots of aggression and affection in intimate relationships in humans, showing that considering the biological roots of male dominance on women does not imply any justification. Bonino makes the case that awareness about the biological roots of violence, and about the cultural messages supporting them, is necessary for developing different messages and educational practices promoting human capacity of personal affective relationship, where partners empathically recognize themselves as equal human beings. Relationships are examined in relation to a domination/submission framework, with the author emphasizing the role individuals can play in promoting non-aggressive relationships. By examining aggressive behaviour in relation to cultural, social psychological, and biological ideas, the author seeks to clarify the cause of violence in relation to gendered roles. This is fascinating reading for anyone interested in violence in relationships and suitable for students and academics in psychology and the social sciences.

In this shockingly raw but beautifully written book, Michael Handrick unpicks the toxic narratives and myths built up by society of what it means to be a man, gay and working class. Moving through time and memory, from a rural council estate surrounded by snowdrop-filled forests, to searching for his sense of self across London, Italy, America and beyond, he explores how his struggles with mental health and abuse were compounded by stigmas around class, masculinity and sexuality. At this point in history, despite having more equal rights and media representation than ever before, the gay community is suffering a mental health epidemic. In a 2018 survey, Stonewall found that half of respondents had experienced depression, while other research shows 49 per cent of gay men have suffered from domestic abuse and 26 per cent have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner. As he embarks on a journey to understand the root causes of the toxicity in our society, Handrick finds that the beginnings of the abuse, trauma and mental health crises faced by gay men, and the silence that surrounds them, remain unresolved. Difference is born on the lips, but it is society that shapes those words and actions. The mental health issues gay men live with, the abuse they go through, the stigma, prejudice and discrimination they face do not exist in a vacuum. They are created and catalysed in our societies. Difference is Born on the Lips is a call to come together and create a new conversation, and confront the systemic inequalities that the queer community should never have had to live with.

Overcoming the Stigma of Intimate Partner Abuse addresses the impact of the shame surrounding intimate partner violence and the importance of actively challenging this stigma. Through examples of survivors who have triumphed over past abuse, the book presents a new way to understand the dynamics of abusive relationships as well as demonstrates the strength, resourcefulness, and resilience of victims and survivors. Overcoming the Stigma of Intimate Partner Abuse offers professionals, survivors, and communities an action plan to end stigma, support survivors, advocate for better response systems, raise awareness about abuse, and prevent violence.

After family violence, very young children and babies benefit from child-led therapy, but how do you achieve this? Dr. Wendy Bunston's guide is here to help you to meet the emotional needs of children who are experiencing trauma, and to enable them to form healthy attachments, both within their families and beyond. As well as clearly explaining the consequences of domestic violence on young developing brains, this book demystifies the practicalities of working effectively with children in their earliest years. Examining real-life cases, it notes the distress that arises when a child is separated from his or her family, advises on the importance and complexities of children's attachments, and shows how to support playfulness as an essential part of children's healthy personal development. Instruction is provided on how to include all family members in the healing process, including the perpetrators of family violence, in a positive way to improve children's chances of recovery. Dr. Wendy Bunston's unique approach to therapy and care, based on over 25 years' professional experience, promotes the viewing of cases from a 'child-led' perspective. Pragmatic, empathic and accessible, this book will be essential reading for anyone working with those affected by domestic violence.

For courses in domestic violence, family violence, and victimology. The authoritative introduction to family violence Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Heavy Hands is an authentic introduction to the crimes of family violence, covering offenders and offenses, impact on victims, and responses of the criminal justice system. Comprehensive yet easy to understand, this established text is essential reading for students considering careers in criminal justice, victim advocacy, social work, or counseling. Gosselin draws on extensive field experience and real? examples to explain abuse and its effects on survivors. The 6th edition includes a new chapter on adolescent and young adult victimization, as well as updates to topics of interest such as intimate partner violence, asylum law, and theoretical perspectives.

This book offers an in-depth analysis of several national case studies on family violence between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, using court records as their main source. It raises important questions for research on early modern Europe: the notion of absolute power; sovereignty and its applicability to familial power; the problem of violence and the possibility of its usage for conflict resolution both in public and private spaces; and the interconnection of gender and violence against women, reconsidered in the context of modern state formation as a public sphere and family building as a private sphere. Contributors bring together detailed studies of domestic violence and spousal murder in Romania, England, and Russia, abduction and forced marriage in Poland, infanticide and violence against parents in Finland, and rape and violence against women in Germany. These case studies serve as the basis for a comparative analysis of forms, models, and patterns of violence within the family in the context of debates on political power, absolutism, and violence. They highlight changes towards unlimited violence by family patriarchs in European countries, in the context of the changing relationship between the state and its citizens. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the History of the Family.

Accessibly written and presented, Changing Violent Men is based on the authors' evaluation research of various criminal justice responses and treatment programs for men who use violence against a woman partner. It seeks to answer the questions "What, if anything, works and why?" In examining the effectiveness of two court-mandated abuser programs, compared with more traditional justice sanctions such as fines, probation, and others, the authors provide: Detailed descriptions of the nature of violence Considerations of interventions with violent men, particularly abuser programs A focus on whether violent men can change Theorizing about the process of personal change among those men who do change their behavior Both qualitative and quantitative data are used to delineate the patterns of violence and personal change and to give a voice to men as well as women speaking about their relationships, about the impact of various criminal justice interventions and about changes in their lives. Although the programs evaluated are in the United Kingdom, they are modeled on programs in the United States, so the book will have wide appeal to advanced students and practitioners in the United States, the United Kingdom, and around the world.

Domestic violence is a serious, widespread public, social and health problem that affects the lives of many women, children and men. There is also evidence to suggest it has one of the highest rates of recidivism. This comprehensive book provides an overview of what the research tells us about the perpetrators of domestic violence and what works, and what doesn't, in promoting positive change. Collecting together the most up-to-date evidence from the international literature and bringing psychological, sociological, gendered and socio-political theoretical perspectives to bear on the issue, the authors explore: - what domestic violence is, why it happens and how it can be measured - who the perpetrators of domestic violence are, including discussion of non-stereotypical patterns such as male victims, female perpetrators, couples where the abuse is mutual, and couples with abusive relationships who want the abuse to end but the relationship to be sustained - strategies for engaging perpetrators in interventions and for promoting behaviour change - evidence-informed interventions, programmes and policies for working with perpetrators - where robust evidence is lacking and more research needs to be undertaken. Domestic violence is a significant problem for those individuals and families whose life is affected by this issue, the social, health and criminal justice agencies that respond to it, and wider society which must bear the costs and its devastating effects. This volume is an important reference for all those researching and working with the victims, survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence, including academics and students from fields such as social work, sociology, criminology, psychology and social policy.

The challenge of violence against women should be recognised as an issue for the state, citizenship and the whole community. This book examines how responses by the state sanction violence against women and shape a woman's citizenship long after she has escaped from a violent partner. Drawing from a long-term study of women's lives in Australia, including before and after a relationship with a violent partner, it investigates the effects of intimate partner violence on aspects of everyday life including housing, employment, mental health and social participation. The book contributes to theoretical explanations of violence against women by reframing it through the lens of sexual politics. Finally, it offers critical insights for the development of social policy and practice.

This book shows how violence against woman can be seen, known and represented on the world stage and in psychoanalytic treatment. It brings psychoanalytic ideas and understanding in an effort to comprehend violence against women.

Innovations in Interventions to Address Intimate Partner Violence: Research and Practice speaks to what can be done to effectively intervene to end intimate partner violence against women. Including contributions from both researchers and practitioners, chapters describe service innovations across systems in large urban and remote rural contexts, aimed at majority and minority populations, and that utilize a range of theoretical perspectives to understand and promote change in violence and victimization. Reflecting this range, contributions to this volume are organized into five sections: legal responses to domestic violence, intervention with men who have perpetrated domestic violence, responses to women who have experienced domestic violence, restorative approaches to intimate partner violence, and a section on integrating intervention for domestic violence across systems. The book highlights advances in practice which will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students.

AN ESQUIRE AND NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

An award-winning journalist’s exploration of the domestic violence epidemic, and how to combat it.

An average of 137 women are killed by familial violence across the globe every day. In the UK alone, two women die each week at the hands of their partners, and in the US domestic violence homicides have risen by 32 percent since 2017. The WHO deems it a ‘global epidemic’. Yet public understanding of this urgent problem remains catastrophically low.

Journalist Rachel Louise Snyder was no exception. Despite years of experience reporting on international conflicts, when it came to violence in the domestic sphere, she believed all the common assumptions: that it was a fate for the unlucky few, a matter of bad choices and cruel environments. That if things were dire enough, victims would leave. That violence inside the home was private. And, perhaps most of all, that unless you stand at the receiving end of a punch, it has nothing to do with you.

All this changed when Snyder began talking to the victims and perpetrators whose stories she tells in this book. Fearlessly reporting from the front lines of the epidemic, in No Visible Bruises she interviews men who have murdered their families, women who have nearly been murdered, and people who have grown up besieged by familial aggression, painting a vivid and nuanced picture of its reality. She talks to experts in violence prevention and law enforcement, revealing how domestic abuse has its roots in our education, economic, health, and justice systems, and how by tackling these origins we can render it preventable.

This book examines contemporary media stories about women who kill their children. By analyzing media texts, motherhood blogs, and journalistic interviews, the book seeks to understand better maternal violence and the factors that lead women to harm their children. The central thesis of this book is that media practices have changed dramatically during the past 50 years, as has society's views on "appropriate" feminine behavior, yet definitions of characteristics of good mothers remain largely defined by 1950s sit coms, Victorian ideals, and Christian theology. The book contends that in spite of media saturation in American society, and the media's increased opportunities to tell complex and nuanced stories, news media narratives continue to situate maternal violence as rare, unfathomable, and unpredictable. The news media's shift in focus-from public service to profit-making industry-has encouraged superficial coverage of maternal violence as reporters look for stories that sell, not stories that explain. Motherhood blogs, in contrast, offer an opportunity for women to tell their own stories about motherhood, based on experience. Interviews with journalists offer insights into how the structure of their jobs dictates media coverage of this intimate form of violence.

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.

Adolescent violence and abuse towards parents is increasingly recognised as a global problem. Inverting how we normally understand power to operate in abusive relationships, it involves actors who cannot easily be categorised as victims or perpetrators, and often impacts families who are experiencing multiple stressors and hardships and may be experiencing other forms of family abuse. This unique book draws on an international selection of contributors to identify, present and explore what we know about what works when supporting these families. Exploring conceptual and theoretical challenges produced by this emerging social problem: Part 1 discusses some well-established intervention approaches and programmes, looking at their theoretical base and relevant assessment, delivery and evaluation issues. It provides readers with a theoretical framework and toolkit for use in their own intervention work. Part 2 presents examples of innovative practice, with an emphasis on diverse institutional settings, geographical locations and other important contexts that shape practice. It provides readers with an understanding of some of the complexities involved in this kind of intervention work, offering tools and strategies to be applied in their own work. This interdisciplinary guide provides an essential resource for students and practitioners with an interest in domestic and family violence, youth studies, child protection, drug and alcohol work, and youth justice from a wide range of professional backgrounds.

Adolescent violence and abuse towards parents is increasingly recognised as a global problem. Inverting how we normally understand power to operate in abusive relationships, it involves actors who cannot easily be categorised as victims or perpetrators, and often impacts families who are experiencing multiple stressors and hardships and may be experiencing other forms of family abuse. This unique book draws on an international selection of contributors to identify, present and explore what we know about what works when supporting these families. Exploring conceptual and theoretical challenges produced by this emerging social problem: Part 1 discusses some well-established intervention approaches and programmes, looking at their theoretical base and relevant assessment, delivery and evaluation issues. It provides readers with a theoretical framework and toolkit for use in their own intervention work. Part 2 presents examples of innovative practice, with an emphasis on diverse institutional settings, geographical locations and other important contexts that shape practice. It provides readers with an understanding of some of the complexities involved in this kind of intervention work, offering tools and strategies to be applied in their own work. This interdisciplinary guide provides an essential resource for students and practitioners with an interest in domestic and family violence, youth studies, child protection, drug and alcohol work, and youth justice from a wide range of professional backgrounds.