Citation

Moore AM, Smith JL. Int. J. Comp. Appl. Crim. Justice 2008; 32(2): 309-320.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Society of Criminology's Division of International Criminology, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The amount of resources, including research, devoted to understanding, preventing, and reducing violence against women has increased tremendously over the past two decades. The pioneers of the domestic violence movement, including Susan Schechter and Erin Pizzey, would likely be optimistic about the progress made to date. This special journal issue on responding to intimate partner violence across the globe is further testimony to such progress. Still, as a field, violence against women (VAW) faces many challenges. There is continued debate about how violence against women should be defined, appropriate methods that should be used to obtain reliable information, and the interpretation of information currently known. Another major issue is the limited scientific rigor of much of the extant research. Different interpretations of the same data add to the confusion surrounding intimate partner violence (IPV) research. These challenges increase the difficulty in developing, enhancing, and expanding IPV interventions. Despite such complexities, there are promising strategies, as described in this special edition, that may help to guide the development, enhancement, expansion, and implementation of effective interventions.