Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Prevention, Recognition, and Intervention

Research shows that intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is the most common form of sexual assault. Professional focus is often on the victim, but more information is needed about the perpetrators in order to have a fuller understanding of this crime. The very nature of IPSV – sexual assault within a relationship – means that professionals who work with victims must understand the dynamics of perpetrators as well.

This new book will distill the knowledge that exists about perpetrators of IPSV. It includes chapters by authors who have worked directly with IPSV perpetrators and covers important subjects such as addressing IPSV in batterer groups, police management strategies, the danger of IPSV to children, the different types of violence perpetrators use, and prevention approaches for young people. There is also still a widely held view that rapists are strangers in alleyways. This book is intended to educate professionals about who is a perpetrator, as well as to highlight the very real danger these perpetrators represent, including a heightened risk of lethality.

The contributors look at the social context of IPSV and the implications for prevention and provide hands-on knowledge to practitioners in a number of fields. The book may also be used within the academic context in fields such as social work, sociology, counseling, psychology, medicine, nursing, criminal justice, and law.

Louise McOrmond-Plummer is Research Associate at the West Virginia University Center on Violence, USA. She has twenty-five years of study, work and activism experience in the areas of domestic violence and sexual assault, with particular focus on intimate partner sexual violence.

Jennifer Y. Levy-Peck, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with more than thirty-five years of experience working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and has developed expertise in program development and victim advocacy. She is president of Levy-Peck Consulting, LLC.

Patricia Easteal, AM, is Professor of Law at the University of Canberra, Australia. She has twenty-plus years of research, writing, advocacy and teaching experience in the area of women and the law, domestic violence and sexual assault. She has written and/or edited 15 relevant books and more than 160 academic journal articles.