1st Edition
Violence against Women Criminological perspectives on men’s violences
Violence against women is an enduring problem around the globe, yet very few books look at the full range of men’s violences against women – perpetrated in relationships, in the family, in public spaces, and in institutions. While books that look at different types of violence, such as domestic violence, ‘honour’ based violence and rape in isolation are useful for depth, it is only by looking across these different spheres that the true extent of men’s violences against women becomes clear. This book usefully covers all of the main forms of violence against women, looking at it from a research, policy, and practice perspective.
Including discussion of fifteen different types of violence against women, this book is original in offering an introduction to such a broad range of topics, and for including chapters on violences that have rarely been written about, as well as those that are more commonly discussed and those that have been sidelined in recent years. By bringing together work on violence against women committed by partners, family members, strangers, acquaintances, institutions and businesses, this book widens the lens through which we view men’s violences against women.
Violence against Women is essential reading for criminologists and sociologists who want to be up to date with cutting-edge knowledge on this topic. It is also an invaluable text for those training to enter or become qualified in the specialist domestic and sexual violence sector.
Foreword Section 1: Men's Violences in Relationships 1. Fatal violence against women – partner homicide 2. Physical partner violence 3. Intimate partner sexual violence 4. Psychological abuse Section 2: Men's Violences in the Family 5. Violence against mothers and grandmothers 6. Forced Marriage 7. ‘Honour’ based violence and killings 8. Female Genital Mutilation 9. Familial rape and abuse Section 3: Men's Violences in Public Spaces 10. Sexual violence and harassment in the work place 11. Street and public space violence 12. Stranger and acquaintance rape Section 4: Men's Violences in Institutions 13. Sexual violence, celebrity culture, and public institutions 14. Institutional abuse in residential care 15. Violence against women in higher education institutions 16. Afterword - On Outrage.
Biography
Nicole Westmarland is Professor of Criminology at Durham University and Co-Director of the Durham Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse. She has held a number of policy, practice, and activist roles alongside her academic career, including Chair of Rape Crisis (England and Wales) and Special Advisor to the House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights for its Inquiry into Violence against Women and Girls.
'Drawing on the latest research, Westmarland documents the oft-noted gap between the extent of male violences and the current policies, laws and programs she describes. Like the best of feminist criminology, the book is as passionate as it is scholarly. Westmarland puts flesh on the barebones data through heart-rending accounts from victims. Meanwhile, her analyses of current events such as the Jimmy Savile crimes and the massive abuse of adult and child residents at Nottingham and Rotherham makes the book as current as the latest headlines. I know no better introduction to violence against women in modern life.’ - Evan Stark, Emeritus Professor of Public Affairs and Public Health, Rutgers University, USA
‘Nicole Westmarland’s book Violence Against Women is clear, systematic, practical and devoted: it comprises the researcher’s intensive experience in the field both as an academic and as an activist. Therefore it is able to offer the most recent, detailed research information, as well as descriptions about the policy-relevant "best practices". The book is very suitable both for students in the field of criminology and those interested in the phenomena more generally. Its systematic character also makes it of value to researchers and PhD students.’ - Suvi Ronkainen, Professor in Research Methodology, University of Lapland, Finland
‘Violence Against Women documents the extent and dynamics of male violences across a broad spectrum of private, family and public life. In 15 chapters, each devoted to a form of male violence, Professor Westmarland makes a convincing case that the same gender analysis that guides our response to physical, psychological and sexual violence by partners applies equally well to child sexual abuse, violence against parents and the elderly and to the abuse cultivated by celebrity culture, in residential care homes and in educational institutions.
‘An invaluable resource for those starting work in the sexual violence sector.' - Lee Eggleston OBE, Chairwoman, Rape Crisis England & Wales, UK
‘Working and thinking with Nicole Westmarland is a challenging pleasure. Westmarland is always ready to make a leap outside feminist orthodoxies whilst fiercely maintaining a feminist perspective. This book will help you think about, and possibly re-think, what we know and do not know about violence against women and girls.’ - Liz Kelly, Roddick Chair on Violence Against Women, London Metropolitan University, UK
‘Violence against Women offers an excellent, informative overview of the types of gendered forms of violence and the environments in which they occur. The cutting-edge content underscores the importance of understanding the many facets of violence and invites each of us to act on it. Westmarland stresses the point that violence - in all its forms - is damaging not only to individuals but also to many components of the affected systems of support and protection. The didactic exposition of the material will be appreciated by its primary audience - university students and scholars. However, the book's clarity and accessibility will also make it a captivating resource for anyone interested in learning about the disconcerting variety of men’s violence against woman, or anyone affected by its existence in their life.’ - Dr Aisha K. Gill, Associate Professor in Criminology, University of Roehampton, UK
