The latest statistics show that one in four women in the UK experiences domestic violence. This book looks at the causes and effects of domestic violence, why some people abuse others and the reasons why people stay in abusive relationships. There is also a chapter on seeking help, including the range of services that are available to partners and their children.
The information comes from a wide variety of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Domestic Violence
Domestic abuse, Facts about domestic violence, Types of abuse, Myths and facts, The extent of domestic violence, The cost of domestic violence, The cycle of abuse, Older women suffer domestic violence in silence, Fighting back, Why do women stay with violent men?, Violence people like to ignore, Hidden victims, Women say they’d walk . . .
Chapter Two: Effects on Young People
Domestic violence, Why does domestic violence happen?, Troubles at home kept secret by children, Silence is not always golden, Domestic violence – in their own words, Domestic violence – its effects on children, Alarm at acceptance of abuse by teenage girls, And they all lived happily ever after . . .?
Chapter Three: Getting Help
Freephone 24-hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, The safe house, Male victims of domestic violence, Contacting Women’s Aid, A friend in need, How can I help my mum or dad?, Legal protection against domestic abuse, Perpetrators of domestic violence.
Key Facts
Additional Resources
Index
Acknowledgements
• Domestic abuse or domestic violence is the term used to describe any abusive behaviour within an intimate relationship between two people. (page 1)
• The BCS estimates that one in five (21%) women and one in ten (10%) men have experienced at least one incident of non-sexual domestic threat or force since they were 16. (page 9)
• Of male victims of domestic abuse surveyed, 35% reported that the police had totally ignored what they had to say. 47% reported that they had been threatened with arrest despite being the victim. 21% said that they had been arrested despite being the victim. Only 3% reported that the violent female partner had been arrested. (page 17)
• The Government definition of domestic violence is, ‘any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse – psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional – between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality’. (page 24)
• Among teenagers aged 13-19 surveyed, more than four in 10 (43%) believed it was acceptable for a boyfriend to get aggressive in certain circumstances – for example if a girl cheated on him, flirted with somebody else, screamed at him or ‘dressed outrageously’. One in six had been hit by a boyfriend, 4% of them regularly. (page 29)
• Right now, 7,000 women and children are staying in refuges in England. Broaden the picture to the whole of the UK, and the annual figure for refuge-seekers is 63,000. (page 32)
Domestic Violence Study Guide
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.50
ISBN: 978 1 86168 334 2
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