When women decide what to wear, where to go, how to get there, what time of day to be outdoors, and what affects their sense of security and safety, are they aware that they're afraid of being sexually assaulted? Violence against women is, on a global scale, so common that some experts consider it a "normal" aspect of women's experiences-and yet research on the issue is subjective and inconsistent. Women and Violence is a comprehensive look at the issue of violence against women and its many appearances, causes, costs and consequences. Understanding that personal values, beliefs, and environment affect an individual's response to-and acknowledgement of-violence against women, this book addresses topics such as global perspectives on violence, controversies and debates, and social change strategies and activism. Barrie Levy is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice, and a faculty member in the Department of Social Welfare, School of Public Policy, and the Women's Studies Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of Dating Violence: Young Women in Danger, an anthology on teen dating violence, and In Love and in Danger: A Guide for Teens on Violence in Intimate Relationships; she coauthored (with Patricia Giggans) the books What Parents Need to Know About Dating Violence and Fifty Ways to a Safer World. During thirty years as an activist to stop violence against women, she has founded and directed four domestic and sexual violence organizations. She is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer and has appeared on over fifteen television shows

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