NCJ Number
178684
Editor(s)
Patricia G. Barnes
Date Published
1998
Length
377 pages
Annotation
This first of three volumes that document the history of Western society's response to domestic violence uses court decisions, treatises, and journal articles to trace the obstacles that women faced and still face to be safe in their homes.
Abstract
Two presentations use Bureau of Justice Statistics data to show the prevalence of violence between intimates in America, with attention to violence against women. Other papers discuss psychological factors in the dynamics of an abusive and violent interaction between intimates. A number of papers conduct historic reviews to show how the legislative and governmental institutions in 18th and 19th-century England fostered the concept of women as the property of their husbands to do with as they wished, including corporal punishment and even torture. Court cases are used to show how the courts failed to render decisions that would protect women from the violence of their husbands. Other papers extend the discussion to violence within homosexual domestic relationships, and one paper focuses on domestic violence toward black women. The last three chapters consider current mechanisms of intervention in domestic violence cases. One paper notes that intervention protocols are still inadequate, and a second paper examines the accuracy of three brief screening questions for the detection of partner violence in the context of emergency room treatment for victims. Recommendations from 10 work groups focus on assessment, intervention, prevention, and professional education. 36 references