Intimate violence in families

OVERVIEW

The authors of this book write: "People are more likely to be killed, physically assaulted, hit, beat up, slapped, or spanked in their own homes by other family members than anywhere else, or by anyone else, in our society. Some observers have proposed that violence in the family is more common than love."

The Family Studies Text Series examines topics relevant to a broad range of family studies. Readers interested in the topic of family violence will find many individual studies and articles on specific violent acts within the family, but seldom does a book examine all aspects of this situation and attempt to piece together the whole picture of family violence. In this text, however, this type of examination is successfully done.

The introduction carefully looks at the myths hindering society’s understanding of family violence. The following chapters explore the nature of violence between intimates, the youngest victims (children), the appropriate victims (women), the hidden victims, and violence involving siblings, adolescents, parents, and the elderly. Another chapter studies explanations of family violence, and the book concludes with a discussion of society’s response to violence and its responsibility to prevent and treat such violence.

IMPLICATIONS

• Each chapter of this book ends with discussion questions and suggested assignments. These integrate what has been learned with possible solutions, further enhancing the youth worker’s own exploration of the subject.
• This book is very helpful to both lay people and professionals—particularly those interested in family relations and family sociology.

Dean Borgman cCYS