The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) represents a giant step forward in our country's response to violence against women, including stalking and domestic violence (S&DV). This annual report to Congress provides info. about strategies that show promise and research that enhances our understanding of S&DV, against both women and children. Chapters: S&DV in Amer.; fed. and state anti-stalking legislation; sentencing and supervision of stalkers; the Dept. of Justice's response to S&DV; anti-stalking legislation update; state stalking laws; stalking resources on the Internet; selected bibliography; and list of contacts for sentencing and supervision of stalkers.

Although stalking is an age-old phenomenon, it is only recently receiving due attention. In a span of just ten years, all fifty states have passed anti-stalking legislation. For the first time, Stalking Crimes and Victim Protection: Prevention, Intervention, Threat Assessment, and Case Management brings together in one source all the research done

Barbara Burrell presents a comprehensive comparative examination of men's and women’s candidacies for the U.S. House of Representatives in elections from 1994 through 2012. Analyzing extensive data sets on all major party candidates for 10 elections—covering candidate status, party affiliation, fund-raising, candidate background variables, votes obtained, and success rates for both primary and general elections—Burrell finds little evidence of categorical discrimination against women candidates. Women compete equally with men and often outpace them in raising money, gaining interest group and political party support, and winning elections. Yet the number of women elected to the U.S. House has expanded only incrementally. The electoral structure limits opportunities for newcomers to win congressional seats and there remains a lower presence of women in winnable contests despite growing recruitment efforts. Burrell suggests that congressional dysfunction discourages potential candidates from pursuing legislative careers and that ambitious women are finding alternative paths to influence and affect public policy.

This comprehensive, two-volume work examines domestic abuse in the United States and worldwide, providing research, personal stories, and primary documents that reveal the extent of the problem. An estimated 1,300 to 1,800 Americans are murdered by intimate partners each year. Far from being a problem that only impacts women, domestic violence hurts society as a whole both socially as well as financially, with an estimated direct and indirect cost of nearly $6 billion annually in the United States. This book provides a timely and thorough reference for educators, students, scholars and activists seeking to better understand the global issue of domestic abuse. The entries document the history of the domestic violence prevention movement, provide explanations for abuse, identify warning signs of hidden abuse, describe types of victims and offenders, and supply information on interventions and prevention programs. Written by an array of experts in the field, the book also integrates the personal stories of survivors and addresses abuse as a global issue by covering topics such as acid attacks and female genital mutilation.

Violence against women is one factor in the growing wave of alarm about violence in American society. High-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial call attention to the thousands of lesser-known but no less tragic situations in which women's lives are shattered by beatings or sexual assault. The search for solutions has highlighted not only what we know about violence against women but also what we do not know. How can we achieve the best understanding of this problem and its complex ramifications? What research efforts will yield the greatest benefit? What are the questions that must be answered? Understanding Violence Against Women presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and identifies four areas with the greatest potential return from a research investment by increasing the understanding of and responding to domestic violence and rape: What interventions are designed to do, whom they are reaching, and how to reach the many victims who do not seek help. Factors that put people at risk of violence and that precipitate violence, including characteristics of offenders. The scope of domestic violence and sexual assault in America and its conequences to individuals, families, and society, including costs. How to structure the study of violence against women to yield more useful knowledge. Despite the news coverage and talk shows, the real fundamental nature of violence against women remains unexplored and often misunderstood. Understanding Violence Against Women provides direction for increasing knowledge that can help ameliorate this national problem.