Violence In Canada

Violence against women is usually framed as an issue of interpersonal violence perpetuated by men. While domestic violence and sexual assault are significant social problems, such a narrow framing obscures the diversity of women’s experience, fails to illuminate the role social structures play, and excludes discussions of workplace and state violence. By drawing on a range of theoretical traditions emerging from feminism, criminology, and sociology, Women and Gendered Violence in Canada significantly expands the conversation on violence against women. The first section of the book develops the conceptual and contextual framework that informs the remainder of the text, and the following three sections are organized around types of victimization: interpersonal, labour site, and state. Each chapter ends with lists of suggested activities, and first person narratives are integrated throughout to personalize the material and issues being examined.

Delving behind Canada’s veneer of multiculturalism and tolerance, Policing Black Lives traces the violent realities of anti-blackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond. Robyn Maynard provides readers with the first comprehensive account of nearly four hundred years of state-sanctioned surveillance, criminalization and punishment of Black lives in Canada. While highlighting the ubiquity of Black resistance, Policing Black Lives traces the still-living legacy of slavery across multiple institutions, shedding light on the state’s role in perpetuating contemporary Black poverty and unemployment, racial profiling, law enforcement violence, incarceration, immigration detention, deportation, exploitative migrant labour practices, disproportionate child removal and low graduation rates. Emerging from a critical race feminist framework that insists that all Black lives matter, Maynard’s intersectional approach to anti-Black racism addresses the unique and understudied impacts of state violence as it is experienced by Black women, Black people with disabilities, as well as queer, trans, and undocumented Black communities. A call-to-action, Policing Black Lives urges readers to work toward dismantling structures of racial domination and re-imagining a more just society.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [198]-226) and index.

Violence in families and intimate relationships affects a significant proportion of the population—from very young children to the elderly—with far-reaching and often devastating consequences. Cruel but Not Unusual draws on the expertise of scholars and practitioners to present readers with the latest research and thinking about the history, conditions, and impact of violence in these contexts. For this new edition, chapters have been updated to reflect changes in data and legislation. New chapters include an examination of trauma from a neurobiological perspective; a critical analysis of the “gender symmetry debate,” a debate that questions the gendered nature of intimate violence; and an essay on the history and evolution of the women’s movement dedicated to addressing violence against women, which advances theoretical developments that remind readers of the breadth of inclusivity that should be at the heart of working in this field.

Family violence is hard for most people to understand. The fact that we are more likely to be killed or assaulted by family members than anyone else seems incredible. Yet for many Canadians the family is a dangerous place, far from the haven of love and security that we would like to believe. In this book, sociologists Julianne Momirov and Ann Duffy explore the many forms that violence can take, from physical abuse to emotional deprivation. The victims, the theories, and the factors increasing risk are all clearly presented. Policies and programs which would address this issue -- from personal intervention to institutional reforms -- are also outlined. This new edition incorporates up-to-date statistical information on the prevalence of family violence. It reports on recent initiatives to find more successful ways to respond to the needs of victims and to rehabilitate the perpetrators. This is the definitive Canadian book for anyone wanting to learn more about this disturbing phenomenon.

Many people consider Canada, particularly in comparison to its southern cousin, as a "peaceable kingdom." However, as the historical record demonstrates, Canadians have never been a thoroughly non-violent people. Violence in Canada highlights from an interdisciplinary perspective the major areas and contexts where violence takes place. Consisting of thirteen contributions, the book forms an indispensable guide to the subject. All of the authors are experts in their field, many with international reputations, and are drawn from the fields of sociology, political science, history, and criminology. The foreword by Ted Robert Gurr, author of Violence in America, is followed by an historical analysis of violence on the Canadian western frontier. Other scholars describe contemporary violence: by and against indigenous peoples, women, children, and the elderly; in labor-related disputes; homicide; police and prison violence; terrorism; and discuss government responses and policy implications. Each chapter specifically addresses the sociological and political dimensions of violence. The authors make ample use of statistics and empirical research. Jeffrey Ian Ross's introduction outlines the sociopolitical dynamics of violence, and his summary chapter offers directions for future research. When the book was first published in 1995 it was widely praised by scholarly journals and has since become a standard text in the study of violence and modern Canadian cultural studies. The book is all the more valuable as its new introduction places its findings in the context of research that has been produced since the original publication. Violence in Canada will be of interest to sociologists, criminologists, and political scientists. Jeffrey Ian Ross is an associate professor in the Division of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Policy and fellow with the Center for Comparative and International Law, University of Baltimore. His work has appeared in many academic journals and chapters in academic texts, as well as articles in popular magazines in Canada and the United States. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of eight books. Ted Robert Gurr is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. Among his books are Why Men Rebel and Violence in America.