Preventing Violence In Relationships

Annotation Schewe (researcher, U. of Illinois at Chicago) presents 10 contributions by psychologists describing interventions for use in preventing violence in intimate relationships and in families. Theory, research, and practice have been melded in discussion of school-based child sexual abuse prevention, child sexual abuse as a public health concern, children victimized by peers, dating violence education, self-protection strategies for rape avoidance, men's responsibility for preventing sexual assault, prevention of domestic violence, violence and the elderly population, and evaluating prevention programs. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

In this book, contributing authors take a developmental approach to examining violence prevention in intimate relationships and families. Until recently, the study of violence prevention has focused on reducing the incidence of assaults by strangers, despite statistics that indicate people are twice as likely to be victimized by a friend, relative, or intimate partner. Authors view relationship violence not only as something that may be prevented at many points during the life span of a person, but also as something that must be prevented at key points, especially during childhood, if violence is to be reduced in the future. All violence is essentially interpersonal, so the contributors to this book focus on healthy interpersonal relationship skills as the basis for preventing violence. Each chapter covers relationship violence at a different stage of life and in different relationships, from child and partner abuse to rape and elder abuse. Authors provide empirical research results as well as practical guidance for day-to-day interventions in the lives of children and adults. The editor believes this book will be valuable to researchers interested in the field of violence prevention and practitioners working with the victims or perpetrators of violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).

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 book presents a variety of socio-legal perspectives on issues of domestic violence and abuse. Focussing on contemporary research and practice developments in policing, law, statutory and voluntary sectors, the contributors to this volume cover a vast spectrum of initiatives and professional expertise concerned variably with protection, prevention and intervention priorities. The challenges of “joined up” thinking across these perspectives are apparent as the varied definitions, underpinning ideologies, terminologies, the profile of the victim/survivor’s voice and identified gaps in service provision appearing in this book illustrate. As a reflection on the current economic climate, some of the perspectives presented necessarily compete rather than complement each other, an issue the volume highlights and addresses. Achieving a broader understanding of these issues and insights into a range of activity in this context is vital for both the practitioner and academic alike, whatever their perspective./div

How can we prevent intimate partner violence (IPV)? And how do we define and measure “success” in preventing it? This book brings together researchers and practitioners from a wide range of fields to examine innovative strategies and programs for preventing IPV. The authors discuss evaluations of current prevention efforts, paying particular attention to underserved groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants and refugees. Among the issues addressed are primary prevention programs that target adolescents and young adults, strategies designed to engage men and boys, IPV screening in different settings, the impact of the criminalization of IPV on minority populations, restorative justice programs, interventions for women who use violence, and innovative shelter programming to prevent re-victimization. The volume concludes by identifying the gaps in knowledge about effective prevention and highlighting the most promising future directions for prevention research and strategies.

Stop intimate partner violence before it starts Intimate partner violence touches everyone. With more than 1 million cases reported each year, this pervasive social problem has devastating effects on victims, families, and communities. Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence presents a comprehensive overview of the wide range of efforts and approaches that have been successful in preventing physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. A growing frustration with the limits of therapeutic intervention and with the costs imposed on society by intimate partner violence has created a need for greater emphasis on state-of-the-art prevention programs that really work. Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence addresses the challenges of conducting and evaluating such programs, gaps that exist in programming and research, and future trends in those areas. A panel of domestic violence experts, researchers, and healthcare professionals examines how to change the ways individuals and the current health care system think about, and respond to, intimate partner violence; how to change the ways young people deal with anger in intimate relationships; and the ways society can support families to reduce the occurrence of violence in intimate relationships. Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence examines: identifying risk factors the cost-benefit of universal and targeted programs the effectiveness of parenting, stress management, and substance abuse programs community capacity theory community development social networks media and public awareness campaigns healthcare screening programs and much more Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence documents the effectiveness of prevention interventions, encouraging prevention specialists to use evidence-based interventions to enhance the effectiveness of their own work. This powerful book is an invaluable professional resource for social workers, family life educators, researchers, and practitioners.

The need for children and young people to learn about violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been voiced since the late 1980s. This is the first ever book on educational work to prevent VAWG, providing the most comprehensive contribution to our knowledge and understanding in this area. By bringing together international examples of research and practice, the book offers insight into the underpinning theoretical debates and key lessons for practice, addressing the complexities and challenges of developing, implementing and evaluating educational work to prevent VAWG. This multidisciplinary book will be of interest to educationalists, VAWG and child welfare practitioners, policy makers, researchers and students.