Backs Against the Wall

Backs Against the Wall: Battered Women’s Resistance Strategies tackles several controversial aspects involved with intimate partner violence (IPV)―namely the approaches many victims use when resisting their oppressors. This sensitive and sensible feminist perspective concerning battered women's use of different resistance strategies, and the reasons why they use them, also focuses on ways to support victims through intervention and prevention strategies. Leading experts provide current research, revealing viewpoints, and convincing assertions about the victims of IPV.

This book powerfully refutes the sweeping assertions made by today’s antifeminist-based mindset that women are as violent as men in cases of IPV perpetration. This insightful source provides strong evidence of the different resistance strategies that battered women use in response to multiple oppressions, including IPV, in the case against the gender parity argument―that may very well be politically motivated. The text provides extensive references and several figures and tables to clearly present data.

This book is a valuable resource for activists, educators, students, health providers, justice system workers, advocates, and researchers.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma.

Kathy A. McCloskey is Associate Professor at the University of Hartford, Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology in Hartford, CT. Her specialties include domestic violence, trauma, forensic populations, and the training of doctoral-level clinical psychologists.

Marilyn Sitaker, MPH, is Section Epidemiologist at the Washington State Department of Health in Olympia, WA, where she is responsible for surveillance and evaluation of policy and environmental interventions to reduce the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases.