Violence, Gender and Justice

Book excerpt: `This is a very impressive piece of thorough scholarship. It is an important book that highlights the need to consider gender when developing policies to respond to interpersonal violence. It is written in a clear and accessible style and should be required reading for all criminal justice students.′ - Dr Malcolm Cowburn, Sheffield Hallam University This comprehensive text provides an overview of the relationship between violence, gender, crime and justice. It brings together theory with contemporary cases to enable the reader to understand the key concepts, issues and connections involved. Enlightening and accessible, the book examines the experiences and treatment of men and women as victims and criminals. It explores whether and how offending patterns differ according to gender, and investigates the connections between gender, offending and victimisation. The book covers different types of inter-personal violence including sexual violence, ′domestic′ violence, ′domestic′ murder, male-on-male violence and child abuse. It explores how sexual and ′domestic′ violence have been represented in the media, in the law and in criminal justice processes. Not only does the book present a comprehensive introduction to the field, it also offers reflective questions at the end of each chapter to enable the reader to integrate and interrogate the material covered. Chapter summaries and annotated bibliographies enhance the learning process by helping students to consolidate and further investigate key points. This book is essential for students and academics in criminology, criminal justice, sociology and gender studies.