Public awareness regarding the life-threatening nature and intense traumatic impact of domestic violence has substantially increased in the past decade. At the same time, dramatic changes have taken place regarding criminal justice and social work policies and practices applied to domestic violence intervention. And while the prevalence of domestic violence has declined slightly, national estimates still indicate that every year, approximately eight million women are abused, battered, stalked, or killed by their husbands, boyfriends, and other intimate partners. Featuring cutting-edge research and expert intervention strategies, the Handbook of Domestic Violence Intervention Strategies: Policies, Programs, and Legal Remedies is designed to prepare professionals to swiftly and compassionately meet the multiple needs of women and children who have suffered from domestic violence. This original and indispensable volume focuses on the numerous advances in legal remedies, program developments, treatment protocols, and multidisciplinary perspectives. It is a comprehensive guide to the latest research, public policies, and legal and criminal justice responses, covering federal and state legislation as well as trends in police and court responses to domestic violence. This is the first book to include court-based technology developments and new research related to the duration and intensity of woman battering. Highlighting actual cases and promising programs, the handbook also addresses important social work issues, including risk assessment protocols, a new five level continuum of woman battering, intervention methods, and treatment models. The book also examines the myriad legal issues and health problems facing the most neglected and vulnerable battered women. Written by expert practitioners and leading scholars in the field, the book's 23 chapters provide rich insights into the complexities and challenges of addressing domestic violence. This timely and definitive handbook is recommended for students, clinicians, policy makers, and researchers in the fields of social work, victim services, criminal justice, hospital administration, mental health counseling, public health, pastoral counseling, law enforcement. In fact, this volume is a critical resource for all helping professionals who are assisting abused women in escaping and remaining free from violent relationships.

This book is a collection of the experiences, insights, and ideas of leading professionals who work with women victims of violence, and who prosecute the perpetrators of such violence. A reference for victim advocates, attorneys, law enforcement, counseling and health professionals, educators and students on the best ideas on effective programs, policies, and legal developments in the fight against interpersonal violence.

Violence against women is one factor in the growing wave of alarm about violence in American society. High-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial call attention to the thousands of lesser-known but no less tragic situations in which women's lives are shattered by beatings or sexual assault. The search for solutions has highlighted not only what we know about violence against women but also what we do not know. How can we achieve the best understanding of this problem and its complex ramifications? What research efforts will yield the greatest benefit? What are the questions that must be answered? Understanding Violence Against Women presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and identifies four areas with the greatest potential return from a research investment by increasing the understanding of and responding to domestic violence and rape: What interventions are designed to do, whom they are reaching, and how to reach the many victims who do not seek help. Factors that put people at risk of violence and that precipitate violence, including characteristics of offenders. The scope of domestic violence and sexual assault in America and its conequences to individuals, families, and society, including costs. How to structure the study of violence against women to yield more useful knowledge. Despite the news coverage and talk shows, the real fundamental nature of violence against women remains unexplored and often misunderstood. Understanding Violence Against Women provides direction for increasing knowledge that can help ameliorate this national problem.

"Evaluating Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault is a valuable resource not only for researchers and evaluators, but for service providers and funders as well. Written in clear, straightforward language, it addresses many complex factors that come in to play when conducting victim--service evaluations, including issues of safety and confidentiality. A great tool for anyone involved in the work to end violence against women." --Cris M. Sullivan, author of Outcome Evaluation Strategies for Domestic Violence Programs: A Practical Guide "This book responds to the tremendous pressure and need to evaluate domestic violence services with some practical advice and experience. It not only outlines the basic considerations of evaluations, but also discusses the contextual issues that make evaluation in the domestic violence field unique and challenging." --Edward Gondolf, author of Batterer Intervention Systems and Assessing Woman Battering in Mental Health Services Evaluation programs that effectively measure the success of domestic violence and sexual assault services are essential not only to assure high levels of client service and continued funding, but also in evaluating how far society has come in the effort to end violence against women. Evaluating Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault provides comprehensive guidelines and field-tested tools for direct service evaluation programs. It also chronicles and celebrates over thirty years of progress made by the anti-violence movement. The authors offer a wealth of practical information at the same time identifying key issues and placing them in the broader context of social and political change. Essential reading for anyone who works in or is affiliated with programs serving the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, Evaluating Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault addresses the needs of both service providers and evaluators as well as funding agencies and policy makers.

The Third Edition of this comprehensive volume covers the current state of research, theory, prevention, and intervention regarding violence against women. The book’s 15 chapters are divided into three parts: theoretical and methodological issues in researching violence against women; types of violence against women; and, new to this edition, programs that work. Featuring new chapters, pedagogy, sections on controversies in the field, and autobiographical essays by leaders in grassroots anti-violence work, the Third Edition has been designed to encourage discussion and debate, to address issues of diversity and cultural contexts, and to examine inequalities of race and ethnicity, social class, physical ability, sexual orientation, and geographic location.

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.