Representing an entirely new approach to domestic violence interventions, this book is based on data accumulated by the authors over the past 12 years from a series of qualitative studies, clinical practice with battered women and their batterers, and as champions of the cause of battered women. After 25 years, practitioners in the field are starting to question the original models of intervention. Both types of practitioners and settings for service are expanding rapidly. The approach advocated in this book is likely to become an important part of a new wave of alternatives available to practitioners in the coming years. This accessible, practical volume describes and analyzes the experience of violence in dyadic life by focussing on couples who choose to remain together in spite of violence, while trying to make sense of a life in the shadow of pain, guilt, terror, and humiliation.

A radical new take on the crisis of intimate abuse, Violent Partners argues that as a culture we misunderstand the root causes and basic effects of abuse, and until that changes there is no hope of fixing the problem. Dr. Linda Mills challenges assumptions, tears down myths, and offer solutions, all the while telling riveting stories of couples who have conquered violence in their relationships. In Violent Partners, she describes several programs that hold promise for addressing intimate abuse, including two nationally known and groundbreaking treatment programs-Peacemaking Circles and Healing Circles. Controversial, provocative, and accessible, Violent Partners is unlike any other book on abuse and relationships, and highlights in great detail the complexities of violence through the stories of men and women who have acknowledged their abuse and sought to do something about it. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand violence in their own relationship, friends and family members of victims and abusers, and legal and mental health practitioners looking for a new and valuable approach to treating couples in crisis.

As domestic violence continues to be a focus of social and psychological concern, two basic contradictory viewpoints endure: one rooted in male power dynamics, the other maintaining that both genders use and are victimized by violence. Although both sides have their merits, neither has adequately answered the crucial question: What causes conflict to escalate into violence? Partner Violence: A New Paradigm for Understanding Conflict Escalation adds a third, escalation-focused paradigm to the debate, addressing the limitations of the two dominant perspectives in a comprehensive scholarly approach. This concise yet comprehensive volume examines key gender- and non-gender-related violence issues and sets out a compelling behavioral argument that using violence to control others is a rational choice. Its theoretical and empirical foundations support an in-depth study of escalating aggression in violent relationships, both throughout periods of chronic conflict and in single violent episodes. This analysis promotes a broader and deeper understanding of partner violence, suitable to developing more finely targeted, effective, and lasting interventions. Among the key topics featured are: Gender differences in aggressive tendencies. Dominance, control, and violence. Partner violence as planned behavior. The process leading to partner violence. Partner conflict dynamics throughout relationship periods and within conflicts. Gender differences in escalatory intentions. Partner Violence is an important volume for researchers, graduate students, and clinicians/professionals across various disciplines, including personality and social psychology, criminology, public health, clinical psychology, sociology, and social work.

This inter-disciplinary collection explores bullying and the abuse of power in a range of settings in which they make themselves known, including schools; workplaces and institutions of higher education from a range of perspectives, including psychology, sociology, philosophy and ethics.

Domestic Violence Advocacy: Complex Lives/Difficult Choices, Second Edition is a comprehensive and highly practical resource for anyone working with domestic violence victims. The essential elements and values of the victim-defined approach provide the foundation for a completely revised exploration of all victims’ perspectives and advocates’ roles. Authors Jill Davies and Eleanor Lyon draw on the far-reaching progress and increased knowledge of the field and delve deeply into the experiences of victims, their perspectives and decision-making, culture, and risks. Attentive to the real- world context of limited time, resources, and options for victims and for advocates, this enlightening text focuses on what is feasible and offers ideas for working within such constraints.

In essence, the book focuses on violence as a gendered activity - specifically, a masculine activity."--BOOK JACKET.