Domestic Violence and Sexuality: What's Love Got to Do with It?

Description

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence This book provides the first detailed discussion of domestic violence and abuse in same sex relationships, offering a unique comparison between this and domestic violence and abuse experienced by heterosexual women and men. It examines how experiences of domestic violence and abuse may be shaped by gender, sexuality and age, including whether and how victims/survivors seek help, and asks, what's love got to do with it? A pioneering methodology, using both quantitative and qualitative research, provides a reliable and valid approach that challenges the heteronormative model in domestic violence research, policy and practice. The authors develops a new framework of analysis - practices of love - to explore empirical data. Outlining the implications of the research for practice and service development, the book will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in the field of domestic violence, especially those who provide services for sexual minorities, as well as students and academics interested in issues of domestic and interpersonal violence.

Catherine Donovan is Professor of Social Relations at the University of Sunderland, UK, and lead of the Centre for Applied Social Sciences. She has extensive experience of conducting research on same sex intimacy, parenting and families. Marianne Hester OBE is Professor of Gender, Violence and International Policy at the University of Bristol, UK, and heads the Centre for Gender and Violence Research. She has extensive experience of researching domestic violence and abuse.

"[This book] has the potential to improve responses to domestic abuse for all victims, their children and others impacted by abusive behaviour." James Morgan Brown Review "Domestic violence and sexuality changes the public story about domestic violence. The heart of the book is the rich trove of interviews in which female and male identified survivors reflect on their experience. Respectful, often heart-breaking and always instructive, this work sets a gold standard for how we understand domestic abuse in same sex relationships." Evan Stark, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration "Hester and Donovan present compelling new research that explores love and violence in both same sex and heterosexual relationships. We see the impact of societal and cultural beliefs on experiences of domestic violence across different genders and sexualities. This is essential reading for researchers and practitioners who want to stop partner abuse and promote respectful and equal relationships." Professor Janice Ristock, PhD, Vice-Provost (Academic Affairs), University of Manitoba, Canada "This book is not just about DVA in same sex relationships, although its contributions in that arena would be more than enough for me to call it a "must read." Beyond that, Donovan and Hester's analysis of their data in terms of both power/control and practices of love provides insights that go beyond same-sex relationships and beyond intimate partner violence." Michael P. Johnson, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Women's Studies, and African and African American Studies, Pennsylvania State University