Violence Against Women

What Everyone Needs to Know

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a longstanding problem that has increasingly come to the forefront of international and national policy debates and news: from the US reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act and a United Nations declaration to end sexual violence in war, to coverage of gang rapes in India, cyberstalking and "revenge porn", honor killings, female genital mutilation, and international trafficking. Yet, while we frequently read or learn about particular experiences or incidents of VAWG, we are often unaware of the full picture. Jacqui True, an internationally renowned scholar of globalization and gender, provides an expansive frame for understanding VAWG in this book.

Among the questions she addresses include: What are we talking about when we discuss VAWG? What kinds of violence does it encompass? Who does it affect most and why? What are the risk factors for victims and perpetrators? Does VAWG occur at the same level in all societies? Are there cultural explanations for it? How reliable are the statistics that we have? Are men and boys victims of gender-based violence? What is the role of the media in exacerbating VAWG? And, what sorts of policy and advocacy routes exist to end VAWG? This volume addresses the current state of knowledge and research on these questions. True surveys our best understanding of the causes and consequences of violence against women in the home, local community, workplace, public, and transnationally. In so doing, she brings together multidisciplinary perspectives on the problem of violence against women and girls, and sets out the most promising policy and advocacy frameworks to end this violence.