Female Offenders of Intimate Partner Violence: Current Controversies, Research and Treatment Approaches

The perpetration of intimate partner violence by women has long been a controversial topic. More recently, researchers, treatment providers and other professionals have begun to critically examine theoretical, research and practice perspectives to gather a better understanding of this controversial issue. The current text will provide the reader with a more thorough discussion on our current understanding of the context and motivation of women's use of violence against intimate partners. This text will discuss the controversies related to the arrest and treatment of women arrested for domestic violence from a variety of theoretical perspectives while also providing updates on the current research focusing on typologies of female offenders. The text also provides a critical review of current treatment strategies for women arrested for domestic violence.

The contributors are the foremost leaders in the field of research and practice on intimate partner violence offending and have written chapters that provide a key review of the work that is currently emerging in the field. As a result, this text is the most comprehensive guide to date that discusses female perpetration of intimate partner violence. Recommendations for specific treatment with this population and implications for practice and policy are provided throughout.

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

Lisa Conradi, PsyD is a Clinical Psychologist at the Chadwick Center, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego. She has led multiple projects of national impact designed to improve the service delivery system for children who have experienced trauma. Her interests include domestic violence and working with children affected by trauma.

Robert Geffner, PhD, ABN, ABPP, is the Founder and President of the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute in San Diego, CA; President of Alliant International University’s (AIU) Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT); and Clinical Research Professor of Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology, AIU, San Diego, CA.