In 2015, the Australian federalgovernment proclaimed that violence against women had become a national crisis.Despite widespread social and economic advances in the status of women sincethe 1970s, including growing awareness and action around gender violence, itsprevalence remains alarming. A third of all women in Australia have beenassaulted physically; a fifth of all women have been assaulted sexually.Intimate partner violence is significantly more prevalent in Australia thanwestern Europe or North America. One woman each week is murdered by an intimatepartner, and recent research suggests that nearly forty per cent of all womenwho suicide have a history of domestic or family violence. Domestic violence isa precipitating factor in a third of all homelessness. The resulting strain ongovernment services and lost productivity means that family violence has beenestimated as costing the Australian economy around $13.6 billion a year.

Thehistories presented in this collection indicate exactly where these violentbehaviours come from and how they have been rationalised over time, offering animportant resource for addressing what amounts to a widespread, persistent, andurgent social problem.