Preventing Family Violence

Some families are dangerous environments. Most practitioners in social work, child protection, and hospital and community medicine, as well as the police, will know from their professional experience the extent of spouse abuse, child abuse, sibling violence and maltreatment of the elderly within the family setting. Understanding family violence is the first step towards prevention. This book deals with the nature and causes of abuse within the family, with its prediction and assessment, and with methods for intervention and prevention. Reflecting the research evidence of cycles of violence and maltreatment, the book is organized as a progressive analysis of abuse of spouses, children, siblings, parents and family elders. The authors are both well known for their academic and professional work with families, and have written this book for professionals requiring a research- and evidence-based (rather than anecdotal) guide to the problems of family violence and to the best practice in related intervention work with families and couples. This book is published in the Wiley Series in Family Psychology edited by Neil Frude, University of Wales, Cardiff.

Since the first edition, there has been an expansion of knowledge in the field of family and intimate violence. This revision offers a summary of some of the best of current scholarship conducted by family violence researchers.

Some families are dangerous environments. Most practitioners in social work, child protection, and hospital and community medicine, as well as the police, will know from their professional experience the extent of spouse abuse, child abuse, sibling violence and maltreatment of the elderly within the family setting. Understanding family violence is the first step towards prevention. This book deals with the nature and causes of abuse within the family, with its prediction and assessment, and with methods for intervention and prevention. Reflecting the research evidence of cycles of violence and maltreatment, the book is organized as a progressive analysis of abuse of spouses, children, siblings, parents and family elders. The authors are both well known for their academic and professional work with families, and have written this book for professionals requiring a research- and evidence-based (rather than anecdotal) guide to the problems of family violence and to the best practice in related intervention work with families and couples. This book is published in the Wiley Series in Family Psychology edited by Neil Frude, University of Wales, Cardiff.

Violence against women and children is a serious public health concern, with costs at multiple levels of society. Although violence is a threat to everyone, women and children are particularly susceptible to victimization because they often have fewer rights or lack appropriate means of protection. In some societies certain types of violence are deemed socially or legally acceptable, thereby contributing further to the risk to women and children. In the past decade research has documented the growing magnitude of such violence, but gaps in the data still remain. Victims of violence of any type fear stigmatization or societal condemnation and thus often hesitate to report crimes. The issue is compounded by the fact that for women and children the perpetrators are often people they know and because some countries lack laws or regulations protecting victims. Some of the data that have been collected suggest that rates of violence against women range from 15 to 71 percent in some countries and that rates of violence against children top 80 percent. These data demonstrate that violence poses a high burden on global health and that violence against women and children is common and universal. Preventing Violence Against Women and Children focuses on these elements of the cycle as they relate to interrupting this transmission of violence. Intervention strategies include preventing violence before it starts as well as preventing recurrence, preventing adverse effects (such as trauma or the consequences of trauma), and preventing the spread of violence to the next generation or social level. Successful strategies consider the context of the violence, such as family, school, community, national, or regional settings, in order to determine the best programs.

This document analyzes a broad sample of the projects funded by the Family Violence Prevention Division, exploring how these projects have contributed to knowledge about and progress toward prevention. The three main goals of the report are: to elaborate on what the projects analyzed teach us about prevention; to describe in a qualitative way how projects funded by the Family Violence Prevention Division have added to preventive efforts around woman abuse in terms of their contribution to what works, and their contribution to reducing barriers to prevention; and, to elaborate on the findings from these projects in order to suggest directions for future activities by the Family Violence Prevention Division related to the prevention of woman abuse, as well as needed directions that fall outside the responsibilities of the division. In addition, the report examines the projects analyzed in the context of the broader Health Canada mandate related to family violence and the Federal Family Violence Initiative.

Providing an arresting and readable overview of family violence, Understanding Family Violence presents a thorough exploration of the major types of family violence and details the range of abusive behaviors perpetrated within family systems. Author Vernon R. WieheÆs extensive study of family violence includes partner abuse in gay and lesbian relationships, battered husbands, sibling abuse, marital rape, response patterns of battered women, the cycle of violence, preconditions of child sexual abuse, emotional abuse, effects of abuse on victims, treatment of offenders, and much more. Case vignettes are used effectively throughout this text to describe violent events and to illustrate the victimsÆ experience and perception of the abuse. Focusing on prevention and intervention, chapters delineate reasons that various types of abuse continue, suggest how different types of violent behavior may be treated, and recommends prevention strategies. In addition, the author has created a comprehensive and cohesive volume by carefully defining terms at the beginning of each chapter and offering summarizing remarks, valuable references, and suggested readings at the conclusion of each chapter. Understanding Family Violence translates theory and research into a practical format, easily accessible to undergraduate and graduate students in areas including psychology, counseling, sociology, social work, nursing, family studies, and pastoral counseling. While the book is an overview and not intended as a "how-to" book, any practitioner engaged in an empirically based practice will find Vernon R. WieheÆs insight invaluable.

This handbook was created for health & social service providers and for educators who may need to assist children exposed to woman abuse or family violence. After an introduction on the importance of this issue, the handbook chapters cover the following: the incidence and prevalence of children exposed to woman abuse in Canada; effects on children exposed to woman abuse, including behaviour problems, depression, & anxiety; child symptoms of exposure to woman abuse at different developmental levels; screening for exposure to woman abuse; interviewing children who may be exposed to violence; crisis intervention & safety planning; assessment of children exposed to woman abuse; treatment & support for children exposed to woman abuse or family violence; supporting mothers; child custody & access issues; community co-ordination & accountability; policy considerations for agencies; professional development; and prevention. The final chapter contains the story of a survivor of abuse.