Domestic violence is a leading cause of injury and death to women worldwide. Nearly one in four women around the globe is physically or sexually abused in her lifetime, and gender violence causes more death and disability among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents or war. Regrettably, the church is not immune to this problem. Numerous studies suggest that incident rates among active churchgoers are nearly the same as those among the general populace. In this thoroughly revised and updated edition, Catherine Clark Kroeger and Nancy Nason-Clark share with readers a further ten years of experience in listening to the voices of women from around the world and especially to those within the church. They help us hear their cries and find concrete ways to respond so that no home will be a place of abuse. In this immensely helpful guide you'll find true stories and updated statistics that illustrate the gravity and extent of the problem worldwide a look at what Scripture says about domestic violence, including verbal abuse and patterns of concealment, secrecy and silence a discussion of how proper concerns for Christian families can be twisted to endanger women and their children an assessment of alternatives to suffering in silence in a threatening environment new chapters on what churches can do and an introduction to the RAVE (Religion and Violence e-Learning) Project website, which provides a wide array of continually updated resources Here is a book for all who want to make a difference in women's lives.

What is the role of religion in creating the rules of society? What should religion's role be? Religion in industrialized countries often appears as a private, personal matter while issues of social justice are worked out in a secular public sphere. But increasingly both policymakers and religious leaders are becoming aware of the role religious values play at the local, national and international levels. Religion and Social Policy explores how religious concerns influence those who shape and those who are shaped by policies. It queries the social teachings of global denominations and local congregations, as well as the implicit religious stances taken by national governments and international NGOs. Broad issues such as religious tolerance, globalization, multiculturalism, gender roles and economic inequality are carefully grounded with practical examples. For students of religion, sociology, politics or public policy, Religion and Social Policy offers an excellent overview of how the sacred and the secular mix in both the theory and practice of creating a just society. Visit the editor's web page

About the Contributor(s): Nancy Nason-Clark, PhD, is the Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick in Canada and Director of the RAVE Project. She is the author of The Battered Wife: How Christians Confront Family Violence. Barbara Fisher-Townsend, PhD, works as a Contract Academic in the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick and teaches family violence related courses in the Department of Sociology and for the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research certificate program in family violence. Victoria Fahlberg, PhD, lived in Brazil where she founded ACODE, a social service/mental health clinic in a large favela (City of God) in Rio de Janeiro. She returned to the US in 1997 and has been working with immigrants and refugees since 2001.

Abuse is ugly. It is always wrong. It is never part of God's design for healthy family living. It distorts relationships and shatters dreams. It creates pain and despair. It never produces hope. You know this all too well--that's why you've picked up this book. Nancy Nason-Clark and Catherine Clark Kroeger know the pain of women who have been abused, especially the unique pain of Christian women who thought it couldn't happen to them. In this straightforward, practical book they supply the answer to the questions you face: How do I know I need help? How much of my story should I tell? Where do I find spiritual support as a victim of abuse? What help can I find in the community? How do I get started on the healing journey? What key steps will I need to take to get on with my life? How can I understand what help my abuser needs? How do I learn to trust God again? Their advice is solid, backed up by Nason-Clark's professional expertise as a sociologist and Kroeger's as a biblical scholar. Together they supply both here-and-now, step-by-step advice you need to start the healing journey and biblical insights to nourish your soul and sustain you on the path to wholeness.

Family life is often a place of violence, especially violence against women--in Christian homes as well as in secular ones. Nancy Nason-Clark's sociological investigations allow her to analyze this problem and to reveal how Christian communities respond to family violence in positive ways. She also to suggests how church and secular agencies can cooperate for even more effective action.

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.