Battered Women: Living With the Enemy (Women Then--Women Now)

Kosof, Anna

ISBN 10: 0531112039 ISBN 13: 9780531112038

Publisher: Franklin Watts, 1994

Synopsis

Discusses the circumstances that lead to abusive relationships, recounts the experiences of survivors, and provides advice on how to identify a potential batterer, and how to get out of a violent relationship

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 9 Up?While young people probably know more about abuse than adults would care to admit, Kosof offers them an in-depth look at the psychology of battery, both from the victim's and the perpetrator's point of view, paying some attention to the history of police intervention and the effects of domestic violence on dependent children. Perhaps it is a blessing that there are no illustrations. Kosof does include a number of first-hand accounts, and while they present typical women in typical abuse situations, the descriptions are not related in graphic detail. The voyeuristic attraction of such accounts is balanced by the author's analysis and careful handling of the research findings that explain why people stay in such relationships and the psychological growth that must take place for them to leave. The resources available to victims and the frank description of the tough road ahead of them are clearly delineated, as is the message that no woman need tolerate a situation where she is physically or mentally abused. There is, unfortunately, a real need for this book.?Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 7^-12. Kosof interviews a number of individuals in shelters for battered women, but her book is much more than a collection of anecdotes. Without being condescending or scornful, Kosof attempts to answer the fundamental question "Why don't they just leave?" and spends a lot of time discussing the development of abusive relationships, which often begin in an atmosphere of romance. She includes much commentary on how batterers are viewed, but whether she's giving the viewpoint of taxi drivers, friends, children of victims, or the police, she makes it clear that there's a complicated reality behind the simplistic myth. The book will be an effective discussion starter for teenage girls. A bibliography, notes, and a list of help sources are among the materials appended. Mary Harris Veeder

About this edition

• Publisher: Franklin Watts
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0531112039
• ISBN 13: 9780531112038
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112