"The issue of violence against women in countries around the world continues to receive increasing public, media, political, and scholarly attention. While research findings in Women's Encounters With Violence are framed within a specific perspective, they extend beyond national boundaries to provide a critical analysis needed to change political and social policies worldwide. Editors Sandy Cook and Judith Bessant introduce the history of violence in Australia and examine how culturally embedded laws and customs have acted like locks on women's oppression. In addition to culture-specific topics such as the injustices suffered by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the contributors also explore issues that cross cultural boundaries, including violence against women with disabilities, homeless women, and lesbians.". "Promoting a crucial international context to this pervasive problem, Women's Encounters With Violence proves an excellent supplemental text for students as well as an accessible and timely resource for a broad range of professionals and academics in counseling, social work, health care, law, criminal justice, sociology, public policy, and women's studies."--BOOK JACKET.