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.
Table of Contents
- Front Matter
- Executive Summary
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Nature and Scope of Violence Against Women
- 3 Causes and Consequences of Violence Against Women
- 4 Prevention and Intervention
- 5 Research Infrastructure
- References
- Appendices
- Appendix A: Biographical Sketches
- Appendix B: Workshop Topics and Speakers
- Index
- ISBN10 0309054257
- ISBN13 9780309054256
- Publish Date 7 July 1996 (first published 1 January 1996)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint National Academies Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 240
- Language English