Susan S. M. Edwards

Violence in the home, particularly assault by a man on his wife or girlfriend, is an everyday phenomenon. What should the police and law courts do about it? In Policing ‘Domestic’ Violence, first published in 1989, reissued here with a new preface, Susan Edwards draws upon her extensive research into their actual responses, both before and after recent initiatives towards reform at the time, to address the practical and theoretical issues for criminology and feminism. Examining police and court practice, the author exposes the ways in which the patriarchal ideology enshrined in the law, and the masculine ethos of the police and legal profession, ensure that women receive less justice and less protection. She documents in detail the processes by which crimes against women are trivialized. The book combines a review of international research with the author’s own five-year exploration of policing in the UK through interviews with officers, observation and a review of record-keeping practice. It covers the introduction of new policing policies and offers a preliminary assessment of their success together with practical proposals for the future. At a theoretical level, this title addresses the key problems of criminality and punishment. Is it possible to reconcile the feminist critique of the marginalization of so-called domestic violence with the radical critique of the punitive system as oppressive and counterproductive? Does the protection of women justify infringement of family privacy? The book should be read in its historical context by students of criminology, law, women’s studies and sociology, as well as those concerned with policies and practical measures for dealing with violence in the home.

The treatment of women by the law, whether as victims or offenders, is based on certain attitudes towards female sexuality that have influenced legal thinking since 1800. The aim of this book, originally published in 1981, reissued here with a new preface, was to expose and investigate these attitudes and to show how the law has subtly but inexorably been used as an instrument of social control over women and their sexual behaviour. The study focuses on the treatment of victims of rape and sexual assault. Within the legal process, it is the area of discretion which is as important as the actual formal content of the law. Why is it that one man may be imprisoned for the daring of a kiss, whereas countless others have escaped with fines and admonitions for the most brutal assaults? What influence can a woman’s personal background, material circumstances or mental condition be allowed to have on the case? How brutally assaulted does a woman have to be to prove beyond all doubt that she did not secretly desire the assault. The scope of the book encompasses law, sociology, psychoanalysis and medicine, and paints a startling picture of the degree of prejudice and masculine interest still woven into the fabric of the law. Today it can be read in its historical context.

Taking a fresh and modern approach, Contemporary Family Law: Principles and Practice gives students all the information they need to develop a clear understanding of this fascinating area of the law. Covering the very latest developments in family law, each chapter uses contemporary cases as a window to introducing core legal concepts, principles and developments, emphasising the dynamism and evolving nature of family law, in which practitioners, campaigners, law reformers and students all play their part. Key features include:Developments in family law are considered not only from a vantage point of judicial decision making but also from the perspective of the contribution made by solicitors, barristers and experts. This encourages students to develop a sense of their own potential agency when as future practitioners they represent their clients and engage in law reformIn considering legal argument and case determination, the book places equality front and centre, including access to justiceEach chapter provides further reading with online links and URLs and a set of self-test questions, including problem scenarios and discursive essay questions. Each form of assessment ref lects the levels of educational attainment and mirrors testing techniques relevant to academic examination and legal professional and vocational practice coursesThis uniquely contemporary textbook will be essential reading for all students of family law.

Taking a fresh and modern approach, Contemporary Family Law: Principles and Practice gives students all the information they need to develop a clear understanding of this fascinating area of the law. Covering the very latest developments in family law, each chapter uses contemporary cases as a window to introducing core legal concepts, principles and developments, emphasising the dynamism and evolving nature of family law, in which practitioners, campaigners, law reformers and students all play their part. Key features include:Developments in family law are considered not only from a vantage point of judicial decision making but also from the perspective of the contribution made by solicitors, barristers and experts. This encourages students to develop a sense of their own potential agency when as future practitioners they represent their clients and engage in law reformIn considering legal argument and case determination, the book places equality front and centre, including access to justiceEach chapter provides further reading with online links and URLs and a set of self-test questions, including problem scenarios and discursive essay questions. Each form of assessment ref lects the levels of educational attainment and mirrors testing techniques relevant to academic examination and legal professional and vocational practice coursesThis uniquely contemporary textbook will be essential reading for all students of family law.

Violence in the home, particularly assault by a man on his wife or girlfriend, is an everyday phenomenon. What should the police and law courts do about it? In Policing ‘Domestic’ Violence, first published in 1989, reissued here with a new preface, Susan Edwards draws upon her extensive research into their actual responses, both before and after recent initiatives towards reform at the time, to address the practical and theoretical issues for criminology and feminism. Examining police and court practice, the author exposes the ways in which the patriarchal ideology enshrined in the law, and the masculine ethos of the police and legal profession, ensure that women receive less justice and less protection. She documents in detail the processes by which crimes against women are trivialized. The book combines a review of international research with the author’s own five-year exploration of policing in the UK through interviews with officers, observation and a review of record-keeping practice. It covers the introduction of new policing policies and offers a preliminary assessment of their success together with practical proposals for the future. At a theoretical level, this title addresses the key problems of criminality and punishment. Is it possible to reconcile the feminist critique of the marginalization of so-called domestic violence with the radical critique of the punitive system as oppressive and counterproductive? Does the protection of women justify infringement of family privacy? The book should be read in its historical context by students of criminology, law, women’s studies and sociology, as well as those concerned with policies and practical measures for dealing with violence in the home.

Drawing upon law, politics, sociology, and gender studies, this volume explores the ways in which the Muslim body is stereotyped, interrogated, appropriated and demonized in Western societies and subject to counter-terror legislation and the suspension of human rights. The author examines the intense scrutiny of Muslim women’s dress and appearance, and their experience of hate crimes, as well as how Muslim men’s bodies are emasculated, effeminized and subjected to torture. Chapters explore a range of issues including Western legislation and foreign policy against the ‘Other’, orientalism, Islamophobia, masculinity, the intersection of gender with nationalism and questions about diversity, inclusion, religious freedom, citizenship and identity. This text will be of interest to scholars and students across a range of disciplines, including sociology, gender studies, law, politics, cultural studies, international relations, and human rights.

Drawing upon law, politics, sociology, and gender studies, this volume explores the ways in which the Muslim body is stereotyped, interrogated, appropriated and demonized in Western societies and subject to counter-terror legislation and the suspension of human rights. The author examines the intense scrutiny of Muslim women’s dress and appearance, and their experience of hate crimes, as well as how Muslim men’s bodies are emasculated, effeminized and subjected to torture. Chapters explore a range of issues including Western legislation and foreign policy against the ‘Other’, orientalism, Islamophobia, masculinity, the intersection of gender with nationalism and questions about diversity, inclusion, religious freedom, citizenship and identity. This text will be of interest to scholars and students across a range of disciplines, including sociology, gender studies, law, politics, cultural studies, international relations, and human rights.