NCJ Number
72462
Date Published
1980
Length
182 pages
Annotation
This book explores the world of rich, battered women through personal interviews.
Abstract
The text is based on a documentary film about abused women. Most of the women interviewed lived in wealthy areas of southern California, and they were brought to the author's attention by concerned friends who were working to combat the women's problems. While poor women go to social agencies to seek help, most women in families with incomes of more than 100,000 dollars per year remain hidden in their homes or travel to expensive playgrounds until their bruises heal. The interviews reveal the events that led up to the batterings, the reception the victims received when they did go to the police and other agencies, and the reasons why, when they were being soundly beaten by their husbands, they chose to hide the cruelty. Also interviewed were two prominent plastic surgeons with wide experience in facial reconstruction, a treatment many women must undergo to repair injury suffered from severe beatings. Rich, beaten women become their patients through referral from private hospitals and clinics. Both surgeons spoke candidly about their patients' attempts to hide the causes of their injuries. Other persons interviewed include a Los Angeles police detective and the San Diego Superior Court judge who founded the country's first conciliation court for battered women and their husbands. The interviews are presented in question and answer form. No footnotes, reference lists, or indexes are included.