Violence sabotages development, both children’s development and the development of the communities and neighbourhoods they rely on. There is abundant evidence of the deep and lasting harm that can be done. Violence breaks bodies and minds and exerts an insidious influence at every level. The effects are immediate but can also linger, damaging health, trust and capability, traveling through generations. This book argues that it is impossible to understand the violence in young children’s lives or to respond to it adequately without considering how embedded it is within their physical surroundings. The relations of power that are the context for violence within households, within communities and beyond are often expressed through control over space and the material conditions of life. This book links the abstract concept of structural violence to the stark reality of personal harm, drawing on evidence from a range of disciplines and from countries throughout the global South. It explores the dynamics of cramped, insecure housing, poor water and sanitation, neglected neighbourhoods, forced evictions, cities that segregate the rich and the poor, landscapes of conflict and disaster, and discusses their implications for young children. An alternative approach to child protection is proposed, anchored in the actions of organized communities negotiating to challenge inequities, mend their environments and achieve security. There is a fundamental synergy between building community and protecting children. These are not separate agendas. A place that works for children works better for everyone else as well. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in young children in a global context, whether as child protection professionals, or those with a more general interest in children’s rights issues or in cross cultural approaches to child development. It will also be of great interest to students and researchers of development studies, conflict studies, family studies, child development, public health and urban planning.

From Africa to Asia and Latin America, the era of climate wars has begun. Extreme weather is breeding banditry, humanitarian crisis, and state failure. In Tropic of Chaos, investigative journalist Christian Parenti travels along the front lines of this gathering catastrophe--the belt of economically and politically battered postcolonial nations and war zones girding the planet's midlatitudes. Here he finds failed states amid climatic disasters. But he also reveals the unsettling presence of Western military forces and explains how they see an opportunity in the crisis to prepare for open-ended global counterinsurgency. Parenti argues that this incipient "climate fascism" -- a political hardening of wealthy states-- is bound to fail. The struggling states of the developing world cannot be allowed to collapse, as they will take other nations down as well. Instead, we must work to meet the challenge of climate-driven violence with a very different set of sustainable economic and development policies.

This timely Research Agenda highlights how slow violence, unlike other forms of conflict and direct, physical violence, is difficult to see and measure. It explores ways in which geographers study, analyze and draw attention to forms of harm and violence that have often not been at the forefront of public awareness, including slow violence affecting children, women, Indigenous peoples, and the environment.

"Each chapter contains recommendations for legislators, policy makers, researchers, and families. This book should be on the desk, and minds, of legislators, attorneys, social workers and other mental health professionals who encounter and wish to ameliorate the effects of violence in the lives of their young constituents, clients, and patients." -JOURNAL OF CHILD AND FAMILY STUDIESQuestions relating to violence and children surround us in the media: should V-chips be placed in every television set? How can we prevent another Columbine school shooting from occurring? How should pornography on the internet be regulated? The Handbook of Children, Culture and Violence addresses these questions and more, providing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of childhood violence that considers children as both consumers and perpetrators of violence, as well as victims of it. The Handbook offers much-needed empirical evidence that will help inform debate about these important policy decisions. Moreover, it is the first single volume to consider situations when children are responsible for violence, rather than focusing exclusively on occasions when they are victimized. Providing the first comprehensive overview of current research in the field, the editors have brought together the work of a group of prominent scholars whose work is united by a common concern for the impact of violence on the lives of children. The Handbook of Children, Culture and Violence is poised to become the ultimate resource and reference work on children and violence for researchers, teachers, and students of psychology, human development and family studies, law, communications, education, sociology, and political science/ public policy. It will also appeal to policymakers, media professionals, and special interest groups concerned with reducing violence in children's lives. Law firms specializing in family law, as well as think tanks, will also be interested in the Handbook.

`The research methodology and the problems encountered when studying a subject such as domestic violence, coupled with the ethical problems of researching with children, are discussed at length in the book. This gives a good insight into the intricacies of conducting such a research study. The research looked not only at children who were known to have direct contact with domestic violence, but also what children in general thought and felt about domestic violence. The presentation of the findings, both in tabular and narrative form, was well presented′ - Accident and Emergency Nursing Journal `This book offers accessible and interesting reading. It is well written as one would expect from these authors.... There are a lot of pointers for the way forward in terms of both policy and practice. This is likely to become a seminal text′ - Research Policy and Planning ′This is a useful and challenging read for all of us who seek to work effectively and ethically in this complex area of practice′ - Professional Social Work `Just looking at the authors of this book tells the reader that they are about to embark on a pioneering piece of academic research... a comprehensive and authoritative piece of work′ - Domestic Abuse Quarterly `A vital tool for all those working with children′ - ChildRight ′Written in a lucid style and is easy to read... it is essential reading for all students in social work undergraduate courses and also in post-qualifying courses on child welfare and protection. In addition professionals who are directly working in the area of child protection, schools and criminal justice settings would find this book informative and useful in understanding what children and young people want, and need, in relation to living in domestic violence situations′ - Child and Family Social Work ′This book is powerfully written and is essential reading for professional working with and supporting abused women and their children. Its groundbreaking focus on children′s experiences adds much to our understanding of the complexities of domestic violence′ - Journal of Family Studies ′A treasure-chest of rich, diverse and powerful extracts from children and young people... in particular the material presented on different coping strategies used by children who have experienced domestic violence is an important contribution to an area about which very little is known′ - Adoption and Fostering Journal How do children who live with domestic violence cope? How do they make sense of their experiences? Do they receive the right sort of help from formal and informal sources? Drawing on the newest research designed to hear the voices of children and young people, this important book examines children′s experiences and perspectives on living with domestic violence. The authors explore: - the effect of domestic violence on children - what children say would help them most in coping with domestic violence - the advice children would offer other children who find themselves in similar circumstances, their mothers and the helping professions. This accessible book written for students, their teachers, researchers and all those working with children - across social work, health, child psychology and psychiatry, the law and education - will provide a vital insight into children′s own perspectives on domestic violence.

A key text examining family violence and its effects on children, The Impact of Family Violence on Children and Adolescents presents various definitions of family violence, along with various theories for the origin of the problem. Authors Javad H. Kashani and Wesley D. Allan discuss different types of intrafamilial violence and the effects of each on youngsters. The book then takes up the phenomenon from a cross-cultural perspective, exploring family violence in non-Western contexts. Finally, the authors offer intervention and prevention strategies (clinical and legal) and suggest future directions for research. Examining this crucial topic from a variety of perspectives, The Impact of Family Violence on Children and Adolescents will be essential reading for those in the fields of clinical/counseling psychology, developmental psychology, nursing, behavioral psychology, social work, health services and family studies.

Canadian and American contributors to this book describe a wide range of programs offered to deal with the direct and indirect victims of men who batter. These include individual treatment options for children who witness the violence, parenting programs for men who batter, and prevention programs targeting high school students. For those involved in providing family services, the book is guaranteed to be both informative and thought-provoking. --John Hunsley in The Canadian Family Psychologist "There is a great deal to reflect upon in every section of the book. The chapters on assessment of children exposed to family violence, and on providing individual and group therapy for children of abused women, take up some very important issues. . . . This book is to be highly commended for its unequivocal espousal of the tenet that a child who witnesses the abuse of his or her mother is an abused child." --Chris Goddard in Child Abuse Review "This is an invaluable collection of papers that both raises awareness regarding the growing body of research that indicates the negative psychological effects domestic violence has on children even if they themselves are not the target of the violence, as well as offering practical suggestions for clinicians. It is a useful resource book for anyone working with the issue of family violence." --G. Smith in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Although there is a growing body of research on children of battered women, there has been little practical information available on intervention with these children. Ending the Cycle of Violence is the first volume to cover the varied and complex arena of intervention with children of battered women. It provides an overview of current practices including strategies and program models. The expert contributors present a concise and accessible look into four major areas: living in a violent culture, shelters and domestic violence counseling, child protection services and the criminal justice system, and prevention and education in schools and communities. Practitioners who work with battered women and their children--shelter and domestic violence program staff, battered women′s advocates, and counselors--will find this book most useful. It will also be helpful to all professionals working with children in schools, child protective services, youth programs, health and mental health agencies, institutions, group homes, and foster care settings. Ending the Cycle of Violence also provides and overview of innovations in this field that can enhance policymakers′ ability to further develop services for this at-risk population.