Pauline B. Bart : University of Illinois Central Administration

Elizabeth Geil Moran : City University of New York

"Bart and Moran have done a first-rate job of editing this volume. The individual contributions are of high quality and written in an accessible style. Moreover, they are fit together in a carefully ordered sequence. . . . This is not an optimistic book, nor is reading it an uplifting experience. (Were I to say that I enjoyed it, the book would have failed in one of its stated purposes.) But Violence Against Women is bold, incisive, and important. I recommend it."

--Violence UpDate

"The editors provide thoughtful, integrative introductions to the four parts, which themselves each contain five chapters that vary considerably in length, depth, and style, but not in their goal of explicating an important aspect of violence against women. The book, or a subset of its chapters, would make a valuable addition to undergraduate and graduate courses in many areas, including those primarily concerned with research and social policy."

--Contemporary Psychology

"Anyone in the helping professions would benefit from this practical guide to what has, and has not, been examined in the study of violence against women."

--Readings

Sage Publications Web Site, June, 2000

It is not the work of a few crazy men. As the editors and contributors to this startling volume point out, violence against women permeates our society at every level and in every setting. Murder. Rape. Incest. Intimidation. Pornography. Workplace harassment. Women are routinely and continuously victimized by these crimes because of the general belief, built into the very roots of our patriarchal society, that women are the proper targets of male violence. Some of the best known writers on women's issues today--MacKinnon, Dworkin, Collins, Bart, Kurz, and Fine--explore this culture of violence and oppression, examining its ideological underpinnings and its structural supports in the social, political, and legal systems that protect the violent by blaming the victim. They suggest ways in which women can understand, confront, and change this "girdle of violence."

Originally published as a special issue of Gender & Society, this volume will appeal to professionals and students in family studies, social work, sociology, victimology, and women's studies.

Foreword J. Lorber


I. Types of Violence Women Experience

Introduction
Prior Restraint P. B. Bart
1. The Sexual Politics of Murder J. Caputi
2. "Riding the Bull at Gilley's": Convicted Rapists Describe the Rewards of Rape D. Scully & J. Marolla
3. Father-Daughter Incest J. Herman with L. Hirschman
4. Put Up and Shut Up: Workplace Sexual Assaults B. E. Schneider
5. The Invisible Intruder: Women's Experiences of Obscene Phone Calls C. J. Sheffield

II. Structural Supports for Violence Against Women

Introduction
6. The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood P. Hill Collins
7. The Imperishable Virginity of Saint Maria Goretti K. Z. Young
8. Fraternities and Rape on Campus P. Yancey Martin & R. A. Hummer
9. Montreal Gynocide J. Stato
10. Limitations of the Medical Model in the Care of Battered Women C. Warshaw

III. The Politics of Institutional Responses to Violence Against Women

Introduction
11. Ordinary Fear: Women, Violence, and Personal Safety E. A. Stanko
12. Cops, Courts, and Woman Battering K. J. Ferraro
13. Surmounting a Legacy: The Expansion of Racial Diversity in a Local Anti-Rape Movement N. A. Matthews
14. July 18, 1988 at a Sexual Assault and Battered Women's Center M. Scott Boria, C. Bevilaqua, H. Gualtieri, Y. Hernandez, J. A. Jiminez, E. Sorenson & D. Weber
15. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward a Feminist Jurisprudence C. A. MacKinnon

IV. Research Implications of Experiencing and Studying Violence Against Women

Introduction
16. Living in Terror and Pain: Being a Battered Wife A. Dworkin
17. Violent Acts and Injurious Outcomes in Married Couples: Methodological Issues in the National Survey of Families and Households L. D. Brush
18. Social Science Perspectives on Wife Abuse: Current Debates and Future Directions D. Kurz
19. "Our Hearts Are Collectively Breaking": Teaching Survivors of Violence J. Lee
20. The Politics of Research and Activism: Violence Against Women M. Fine