In this moving and inspirational work, Schwartz shares the trauma involved in living with an abuser, and takes the reader with her during the gradual process that allowed her to escape from the nightmare and move toward true healing. Along the way, she reveals how to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence, listen to your inner spirit, rid yourself of false beliefs and love yourself enough to protect your precious soul. Throughout this book, Schwartz offers valuable self-help techniques to enable battered women to discover their self-worth and regain their lives. Her honesty in detailing her thought processes provides enormous insight into the psyche of a victim of abuse, while her ultimate recovery offers hope to others trapped within the cycle of domestic violence.

Domestic Violence and International Law argues that certain forms of domestic violence are a violation of international human rights law. The argument is based on the international law principle that, where a state fails to protect a vulnerable group of people from harm, whether perpetrated by the state or private actors, it has breached its obligations to protect against human rights violation. This book provides a comprehensive legal analysis for why a state should be accountable in international law for allowing women to suffer extreme forms of domestic violence and how this can help individual victims. It is irrelevant that the violence is perpetrated by individuals and not state actors such as soldiers or the police. The state's breach of its responsibility is in its failure to act effectively in domestic violence cases; and in its silent endorsement of the violence, it becomes complicit. The book seeks to reformulate academic and political debate on domestic violence and the responsibility of states under international law. It is based on empirical data combined with an honest assessment of whether or not domestic violence is recognised by the international community as a human rights violation. 'Domestic Violence in International Law [...] provides an original, provocative, and much needed legal framework for the coherent development of a norm against domestic violence in international human rights law...Dr. Meyersfeld has developed a thoroughgoing analysis that asks and answers the most difficult questions often neglected by academics, lawyers and activists who dismiss the possibility that systemic violence against women could violate international law...Most fundamentally, this book is memorable for the hope and optimism it expresses about the transformative possibilities of international law. For without compromising such intensely human values as privacy, autonomy and cultural identity, Dr. Meyersfeld moves her reader with an abiding conviction: that international law, fueled with the power of transnational actors, can propel public actors to protect abused and vulnerable people in their most private worlds.' From the Foreword by Harold Koh, The Legal Adviser, United States Department of State (2009-).

According to the American Medical Association, one quarter of American women will be abused by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. Loving support can make a tremendous difference to survivors as they struggle with the difficult process of healing and regaining trust in themselves and others. Often, however, pastoral caregivers possess the same misconceptions about domestic violence as does the uninformed public. Al Miles addresses the issues related to inadequate pastoral response to this pervasive problem. He explores the dynamics of abusive relationships and the role that clergy members can take to heal this painful situation. The new edition of Domestic Violence builds upon the insights, policies, and programs of the original volume and includes new information on the pathology of domestic violence and the effect the economic downturn is having on victim-survivors and batterers. Miles also focuses on helping clergy and other pastoral ministers develop a more compassionate response to victim-survivors who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. This thoroughly updated edition includes questions for discussion, a list of additional resources, and contact information for state coalitions working to end domestic violence.

This book covers timely issues such as women's rights, domestic violence, sex offenders, prostitution, and cyber bullying. Each article is engaging and reader-friendly, and the chapter-opening human interest stories will spark the interest of students. Issues for Debate in Family Violence is an ideal supplementary textbook for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses on family and child violence. About CQ Researcher Readers In the tradition of nonpartisanship and current analysis that is the hallmark of CQ Press, CQ Researcher readers investigate important and controversial policy issues. Offer your students the balanced reporting, complete overviews, and engaging writing that CQ Researcher has consistently provided for more than 80 years. Each article gives substantial background and analysis of a particular issue as well as useful pedagogical features to inspire critical thinking and to help students grasp and review key material: A pro/con box that examines two competing sides of a single question A detailed chronology of key dates and events An annotated bibliography and Web resources An outlook section that addresses possible regulation and initiatives from Capitol Hill and the White House over the next 5 to 10 years Photos, charts, graphs, and maps

In this groundbreaking book, Linda Mills--feminist, scholar, activist, and survivor--challenges the prevailing orthodoxies and maps out a plan to change domestic abuse treatment programs. Drawing on case studies and research from her abuse prevention programs, Mills reveals that intimate abuse is far more complex than we realize, and develops a program for healing that engages everyone caught up in a violent dynamic. Essential reading for therapists, couples, public health experts, and members of the criminal justice system, Violent Partners outlines a breakthrough approach to a major social problem.

This is really interesting and compelling book. Abrahams' writing style is readable and engaging and is interspersed with reference to research and powerfully, the words of women who have experienced domestic violence. Right from the beginning of this book, there are passages that challenge stereotypes and tackle stereotypical thinking regarding women who experience domestic violence... Very engaging, Really useful. Powerful and authoritative, I'd recommend this book to anyone working with women, whether in the community or the workplace. I have worked with a variety of groups (children, families, people with mental health problems, older people) and domestic violence has been a factor in working in all these areas of work. This text will certainly be useful to me and no doubt to many others addressing issues of domestic violence.' - Well-Being 'Abrahams gives us a sense of how lives are shattered and rebuilt in this compelling book that is the culmination of a research project exploring the experiences of women and children in three refuges in the UK... It is a key resource for those working within women's refuges, as well as for professionals whose work brings them into contact with victims of domestic violence. Those tasked with developing and implementing public policy would also find it enlightening.' - Therapy Today 'Compelling reading for anyone working with women and children living with and leaving domestic violence.' - From the Foreword by Cathy Humphreys Women who leave an abusive relationship often experience feelings of fear, bewilderment, anger and confusion. The trauma caused by domestic violence leaves a legacy that stays with the survivor, and it is not uncommon for women to experience feelings of loss and grief similar to those following bereavement, but made more complex by the effect that abuse has had on their emotional health and well-being. Supporting Women after Domestic Violence offers accessible advice on how to enable women who have experienced domestic violence to embark on a journey of recovery. The book draws on theory, original research and the personal experiences of women who have encountered domestic violence to explore the complex practical and emotional support they need when engaging in the process of recovery. It highlights the difficulties a victim of domestic violence may encounter following an abusive relationship, offers action points to improve service provision, and covers important issues in recovery, such as the value of mutual support and how women can regain a sense of normality and self-esteem. This book will be a key resource for those working within women's refuges, as well as social workers, counsellors, mental health professionals and many others whose work may bring them into situations where domestic violence is an issue.

What is often labeled domestic violence is, in this book, referred to as family violence, because the emotional terrorism that infuses violence between adults affects not only the adult victims but also the children who witness the abuse. Dalpiaz shows how a caring and thoughtful parent can recognize the trauma family violence inflicts upon children, and how to help them recover and go on to live happy, violence-free childhoods.

What is often labeled domestic violence is, in this book, referred to as family violence, because the emotional terrorism that infuses violence between adults affects not only the adult victims but also the children who witness the abuse. Dalpiaz shows how a caring and thoughtful parent can recognize the trauma family violence inflicts upon children, and how to help them recover and go on to live happy, violence-free childhoods.

Safeguarding children, building trust and breaking the cycle of violence is the goal. Once the victim of family violence, Dalpiaz later earned degrees in psychology and early childhood education, eventually launching a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children. Her book will interest not only parents who are victims of family violence, but also foster parents dealing with the aftermath of family violence, counselors, teachers, social workers, clergy, and students of the behavioral sciences.

The first history of the battered women's shelter movement in Canada, No Place to Go traces the development of transition houses and services for abused women and the campaign that made wife battering a political issue. Nancy Janovicek focuses on women's groups in small cities and rural communities, examining anti-violence activism in Thunder Bay, Kenora, Nelson, and Moncton. She also pays close attention to Aboriginal women in northwestern Ontario, where the connections between family violence and the devaluation of indigenous culture in Canadian society complicated effots to end domestic violence. This book lays bare the aims and challenges of establishing women's shelters in non-urban areas. The local histories presented here show how transition houses became hubs in a larger movement to change attitudes about domestic violence and to lobby for legislation to protect women.

Brazil's innovative all-female police stations, installed as part of the return to civilian rule in the 1980s, mark the country's first effort to police domestic violence against women. Sarah J. Hautzinger's vividly detailed, accessibly written study explores this phenomenon as a window onto the shifting relationship between violence and gendered power struggles in the city of Salvador da Bahia. Hautzinger brings together distinct voices - unexpectedly macho policewomen, the battered women they are charged with defending, indomitable Bahian women who disdain female victims, and men who grapple with changing pressures related to masculinity and honor. What emerges is a view of Brazil's policing experiment as a pioneering, and potentially radical, response to demands of the women's movement to build feminism into the state in a society fundamentally shaped by gender.

This influential book provides an innovative framework for understanding and treating intimate partner violence. Integrating a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives, Donald G. Dutton demonstrates that male abusiveness is more than just a learned pattern of behavior--it is the outgrowth of a particular personality configuration. He illuminates the development of the abusive personality from early childhood to adulthood and presents an evidence-based treatment approach designed to meet this population's unique needs. The second edition features two new chapters on the neurobiological roots of abusive behavior and the development of abusiveness in females.

Cry Salty Tears is the tale of a mother's survival and eventual triumph over almost unbelievable domestic hardship. Not only did Dinah O'Dowd face the harsh and unforgiving elements of her background - an upbringing in poverty-stricken 50s Dublin, teenage pregnancy and a lone journey to London, but she also fought like a tigress against the shadows cast across four decades of her life by the dark central figure of her existence, her psychotically abusive husband Gerry. Over the years Dinah suffered repeated physical assault, prolonged mental torture and destructive ignorance, yet successfully raised a family of six and nurtured the unique personality of a world superstar, her son Boy George. Finally she has reached equilibrium in the wake of the death of her husband, and is now ready to tell her story, striking a chord with women everywhere. Unflinchingly honest, heart-rending in the telling and packed with inconsolable tragedy and biting wit, Cry Salty Tears recounts the long and painful journey Dinah had to take. From the moment when she first set eyes on the charming, blue-eyed Gerry, to the first blow he struck when she was pregnant with their child, the suicide attempt that depression and all encompassing fear led her to and ultimately to her release from his psychotic clutches, Cry Salty Tears tells how, despite it all, this extraordinary woman could at last reclaim her life.

"This book offers powerful insights into the experiences of South Asian battered women in the U.S."-Natalie Sokoloff, professor of sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York "If you can read just one book to understand domestic violence in this country, read Body Evidence. Dasgupta brings brilliant voices together to explicate the meanings of sexuality, class, ethnicity, gender, and legal status in the struggle to end violence against women in intimate relationships."-Dr. Ellen Pence, director of Praxis International "The strength of this volume lies in its diversity of views. This book brings a new set of articles into the discourse on violence against women."-Margaret Abraham, author of Speaking the Unspeakable: Marital Violence among South Asian Immigrants in the United States When South Asians immigrated to the United States in the 1970s, they were passionately driven to achieve economic stability and socialize the next generation to retain the traditions of their home culture. The immigrant community went to great lengths to project an impeccable public image by denying the existence of social problems such as domestic violence, sexual assault, mental illness, racism, and intergenerational conflict. It was not until recently that activist groups have worked to bring these issues out into the open. In Body Evidence, more than twenty scholars and public health professionals uncover the unique challenges faced by victims of domestic violence in South Asian American communities. Topics include cultural obsession with women's chastity and virginity; the continued silence surrounding family-based child sexual abuse and intimate violence among women who identify themselves as lesbian, bisexual, or transgender; the consequences of refusing marriage proposals or failing to meet dowry demands; and, ultimately, the ways in which the U.S. courts often confuse and exacerbate the plights of these women. Shamita Das Dasgupta is an adjunct assistant professor of clinical law at New York University's School of Law and cofounder of Manavi, Inc.

"Men's Violence Against Women" offers a balance of clinical and social psychological theory and research, as well as prevention and intervention techniques with the purpose of understanding and ultimately ending gender-based violence. The authors address several forms of violence, including rape, intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual harassment in a contemporary linguistic style carefully crafted to avoid victim blaming. Although most men do not perpetrate violence against women, such violence is not a " women' s" issue; it will take the strength and courage of both women and men to solve this human issue.

This book moves full circle in its coverage of the topic as it explores the silent epidemic of men' s violence against women, the grave consequences of this violence on both individuals and society, and the historical and current foundations that serve to both criminalize "and" tolerate men' s violence against women. The authors describe a variety of efforts to treat both offenders and victims highlighting both their vital importance and their insufficiency in preventing violence. The final part of the book contains descriptions of model violence prevention approaches and techniques for implementing these programs. Readers are empowered as they discover how they can be part of the solution.
"Men's Violence Against Women" is intended as a text for courses in gender-based violence in a variety of disciplines including psychology, sociology, and women's, men's, and/or gender studies. The book is also a valuable resource for college and community gender-based violence prevention and intervention program providers.

Domestic violence is control by one partner over another in a dating, marital or live-in relationship. The means of control include physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse, threats and isolation. Survivors face many obstacles in trying to end the abuse in their lives. These obstacles include psychological and economic entrapment, physical isolation and lack of social support, challenges to religious and cultural values, fear of social judgement, threats and intimidation over custody or separation, immigration status or disabilities and lack of viable alternatives. Despite the vastness and power of these challenges most are able to overcome them because of increased public, legal and health care awareness and improved community resources that enable survivors to rebuild their lives. Domestic violence occurs in every culture, country and age group. It affects people from all socio-economic, educational and religious backgrounds and takes place in same sex as well as heterosexual relationships. Women with fewer resources or greater perceived vulnerability -- girls and those experiencing physical or psychiatric disabilities or living below the poverty line -- are at even greater risk for domestic violence and lifetime abuse. Children are also affected by domestic violence, even if they do not witness it directly. The book examines crucial issues in the field.

The more we learn about family violence, the more it becomes apparent that it is a complex and multifaceted issue. Family violence is more than woman abuse. It is also more than child abuse, sibling abuse, parent abuse, or elder abuse. It is all of these violations and more. Nevertheless, family violence is gendered; most abused victims are female and most perpetrators are male. Family violence is not merely personal. It is also a consequence of social inequality, and in that sense is socially constructed. Based on research projects conducted over ten years, Understanding Abuse profiles the work done by researchers of issues related to woman abuse and family violence. The contributors demonstrate the strength of community-based, action-oriented collaborations by carefully identifying the multiplicity of causes, clearly articulating the issues raised by abused women, and seeking to identify realistic solutions. Not only does this work provide invaluable information for policy makers on successful versus unsuccessful programs to prevent violence, it also provides academic and community researchers with detailed data on the intricacies of academic-community action research partnerships.

Learn how to help children cope with domestic violence! The Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Children examines the short- and long-term developmental issues facing children exposed to violence in their own homes. The book addresses the growing concern for children at risk of suffering psychological, behavioral, social, and educational problems, and for the effects childhood maltreatment may have on their adult lives. An interdisciplinary panel of researchers, academicians, attorneys, clinicians, and practitioners discuss treatment programs, theoretical perspectives, research and methodological issues, assessment and intervention, and forensic issues, including child custody. The Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Children addresses the emotional and behavioral disturbances children can suffer after being exposed to violence between their parents. It examines methodological and theoretical challenges, pilot programs for treatment, intervention models, therapeutic curricula, and family law. Practitioners and academics review dozens of studies, representative samples, probability samples, and research findings relating to children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors, adjustment difficulties, coping strategies. The book also examines: the association between emotional regulation and emotionality and marital and parent-child conflict in terms of children's adjustment and physical health how the experience of mothers in low-income families suffering severe physical abuse relates to children's behavior problems. how father-to-mother aggression reduces children's affinity with their parents problems of service delivery for battered mothers Canadian legislation involving wife abuse and child custody the well-being of families accessing treatment group interventions implemented in family agency and school settings how to develop interagency protocols and much more! The Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Children is an essential resource for professionals, advocates, and practitioners who work with abused children and maltreating families.

Child Custody and Domestic Violence: A Call for Safety and Accountability focuses on the complexity of the challenges facing judges, lawyers, legislators, and mental health professionals in developing safe and effective strategies for resolving custody disputes. Jaffe, Lemon, and Poisson integrate the most recent clinical and legal issues in the field in considering the prevalence of divorce and domestic violence as well as the relevance of domestic violence in custody disputes. The authors outline the essential differences between custody disputes with and without allegations and findings of domestic violence, and the different analysis and distinct interventions by judges, policymakers, and mental health professionals necessary in domestic violence cases.

Legal and mental health professionals who provide services to divorcing parents will find this a much-needed reference, as will anyone whose life has been affected by child custody disputes and domestic violence.

"This is the first book I am aware of that focuses primarily on the issue of domestic violence in Mexico and Central America. . . . It is a courageous undertaking for the author to write on this topic, and she carries it off with grace, humility, and honesty. . . . This book has far more potential to be of interest to a general readership than most academic books." --Lynn Stephen, Professor of Anthropology, University of Oregon Marriage among the Maya of Central America is a model of complementarity between a man and a woman. This union demands mutual respect and mutual service. Yet some husbands beat their wives. In this pioneering book, Laura McClusky examines the lives of several Mopan Maya women in Belize. Using engaging ethnographic narratives and a highly accessible analysis of the lives that have unfolded before her, McClusky explores Mayan women's strategies for enduring, escaping, and avoiding abuse. Factors such as gender, age inequalities, marriage patterns, family structure, educational opportunities, and economic development all play a role in either preventing or contributing to domestic violence in the village. McClusky argues that using narrative ethnography, instead of cold statistics or dehumanized theoretical models, helps to keep the focus on people, "rehumanizing" our understanding of violence. This highly accessible book brings to the social sciences new ways of thinking about, representing, and studying abuse, marriage, death, gender roles, and violence.

"Batterer Intervention Systems is a very important book--probably the most important one on batter interventions and evaluations to date.... The writing style is very strong, conversational, and kept my interest. It presents complex information in a non-technical way. The book should be very accessible to a wide audience."

?JEFFREY L. EDLESON, Professor of Social Work, University of Minnesota,

Women's rights advocates in the United States have long argued that violence against women denies women equality and citizenship, but it took a movement of feminist activists and lawyers, beginning in the late 1960s, to set about realizing this vision and transforming domestic violence from a private problem into a public harm. This important book examines the pathbreaking legal process that has brought the pervasiveness and severity of domestic violence to public attention and has led the United States Congress, the Supreme Court, and the United Nations to address the problem. Elizabeth Schneider has played a pioneering role in this process. From an insider's perspective she explores how claims of rights for battered women have emerged from feminist activism, and she assesses the possibilities and limitations of feminist legal advocacy to improve battered women's lives and transform law and culture. The book chronicles the struggle to incorporate feminist arguments into law, particularly in cases of battered women who kill their assailants and battered women who are mothers. With a broad perspective on feminist lawmaking as a vehicle of social change, Schneider examines subjects as wide-ranging as criminal prosecution of batterers, the civil rights remedy of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the O. J. Simpson trials, and a class on battered women and the law that she taught at Harvard Law School. Feminist lawmaking on woman abuse, Schneider argues, should reaffirm the historic vision of violence and gender equality that originally animated activist and legal work.

"A powerful and important book!...Dangerous Relationships could be a life saver."-Susan Forward, Therapist and Author, Men Who Hate Women & The Women Who Love Them and Toxic Parents"I would highly recommend this book to anyone who may be in a violent relationship, or to a relative or close personal friend who has concerns about the safety of someone they love."-Diane P. McGauley, Executive Director, The Family Place, Chair, Texas Council on Family ViolencePossessiveness, insensitivity, and a sudden personality change are all warning signs of a potential abuser. Dangerous Relationships will help readers recognize a potentially violent personality before it's too late. Interweaving real-life stories of four couples, Dr. Noelle Nelson highlights dangerous turning points in relationships and explains how readers can safely diffuse tension between their spouses, lovers, or roommate and protect themselves from abuse.

This volume has been developed by Gerry Heery through his independent work in this area. It is intended for those men who are beginning to realise that they have a problem with their behaviour and who are motivated to engage in a challenging programme of change. It has been designed in co-operation with other agencies working with the victims of domestic violence, and has incorporated the views of women who have experienced this behaviour.;The first part of the book outlines the values upon which the programme rests - the belief that adult education and greater self-awareness can assist people to make positive changes in their lives. The second part is a practical guide to implementing the PVR programme. It contains detailed outlines of the 26 sessions of the one year programme, offering a practical structured way of working with controlling and abusive men, and examples of sessions from the programme.;This is a realistic, honest and practical book, which should be useful tool for anyone working with controlling and violent men and their partners.

?This engaging and compassionate book provides a hopeful and helpful perspective for trauma survivors. Cameron''s documentation of her extensive and innovative research with childhood abuse survivors is also a gift to the field of traumatic stress. She captures the experiences of her research participants-? including the challenging and significant domain of losing and regaining memory? in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Trauma survivors, counselors, and researchers will find in Resolving Childhood Trauma new information, humanity, wisdom, and hope.? ?Jennifer J. Freyd, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon ?Cameron?s book provides the reader with an unusual depth of information about the long-term course of recovery from childhood sexual abuse. Her findings are rich and detailed, and offer a wealth of information about the process of healing, and about the power of ending silence. Well worth reading, particularly for the therapist new to the treatment of sexual abuse survivors.? ?Laura S. Brown, Ph.D., Independent Practice, Seattle, Washington ?It took me longer to read this book than any of the hundreds I have reviewed! Not because it is dense or difficult to read, but because of the emotional intensity and power of the topic and its level-headed, balanced presentation. Kudos to the author! She has done a thorough piece of significant research and this book can make an enormous contribution to both professional and lay readers.? ?Barbara F. Okun, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling Psychology, Northeastern University "Resolving Childhood Trauma is an insightful integration of theory and practice for clinicians who treat abuse survivors. Catherine Cameron, through her clinical experience and research, offers the reader a greater understanding of the impact of child sexual abuse and the trauma accommodation syndrome. I highly recommend this volume to clinicians and researchers interested in a better understanding of efforts toward resolving childhood trauma." ?Thomas W. Miller Ph.D. ABPP, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky and Professor of Education and Psychology at Murray State University ?Catherine Cameron?s longitudinal, interview study of 51 childhood incest survivors presents extraordinary resources for us survivors from the dark realms. . . . This intimate, scientific portrait can assist CSA survivors in making sense of their own situation and planning a productive course of actions. Cameron has a special gift for naming the unspoken and capturing it with familiar methodology. Survivors of CSA can find in Cameron?s book the means to recover their social dignity and to meet their abusers at eye level, with equanimity.? ?Jean Maria Arrigo, Ph.D., Social Psychologist Can survivors of severe childhood trauma reclaim their lives as adults? Social psychologist Catherine Cameron addresses this question in a unique 12-year study of adult survivors of sexual abuse. Five successive surveys combine the richness of intensive personal interviews with objective measures of progress. Fifty-one women were consistently faithful to the project, as Cameron sought to understand their early trauma, its lasting impact, and to monitor their progress toward recovery. A final survey (1998) provided the epilogue for their story. As the new millennium dawns, these survivors have become strong, vital, and caring women. They have also provided valuable information, with implications far beyond themselves. Cameron grounds their personal stories by citing stunning parallels to the larger field of national and international trauma. The result is a compelling and deeply human story of trauma and triumph that transcends narrow application. It promotes understanding, dignity, and hope for all survivors traumatized by human design.

With the knowledge and sensitivity of a teacher and counsellor, Ruth M. Mann details a community effort to establish a shelter for abused women in a small Ontario municipality. While other literature presents the ostensibly cohesive views of particular interest groups on the issue of domestic violence, Mann exposes the conflicts that actually occur, and the ways these conflicts fuel unintended outcomes. In "Who Owns Domestic Abuse? The Local Politics of a Social Problem," the author ventures bravely into the politically charged debate over the definition of abuse, and emphasizes the fact that 'owning' a problem does not ensure the possession of viable answers. Rather than promoting a particular response to such problems, Mann uses personal accounts of abuse to make a space for the diverse perspectives of abused women and abusive men. She urges activists and intervenors to argue less and listen more.