Family Violence

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-This balanced survey focuses on child abuse and battered women. Burby examines the factors that are at the root of abuse within families, cites current statistics, and discusses the "cycle of violence." Special problems of child-protection services are addressed with the arguments for and against children being removed from their homes. The justice system's approach toward battered women is explored through consideration of such issues as police response, mandatory arrest policies, restraining orders, and antistalking legislation. In an especially poignant chapter, the author reveals the plight of abused children and wives who feel so threatened by their abusers that they kill them or hire someone to do so. Concluding on a hopeful note, the text highlights the efforts of various family-violence-awareness programs to prevent abuse. The straightforward writing and open format, with clear graphs and charts and numerous black-and-white photos, make this title useful for report writers and general readers. It includes a great deal more information about wife battering than Keith Greenberg's Family Abuse (21st Century, 1994) and has an annotated list of organizations to contact.-Judith L. Miller, formerly at Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, IN