The State will not protect us from gender violence. Our feminism must be anti-racist and decolonial, and must fight for everyone's safety

This is an interesting book. It may be useful for those who have not followed the debate on the experience of women in psychiatric services. It provides useful information on ways of working with more disturbed women. These are women whom psychiatric services often avoid or at least with whom they do little constructive work. The emphasis on offering therapy to these women instead of a bed in an institution was refreshing. --Andrea Bennett in Clinical Psychology Forum How can counselors and clinicians help empower women in a sexist, racist, and homophobic society? How can they help women reclaim their bodies? Or repair their violated bond with womenkind? Taking feminist therapy one step further, this enlightening volume focuses on a central problem in our society--violence against women--and explores practical, feminist ways of working with women′s responses to it: depression, cutting, splitting, troubled eating, and protest. Radical Feminist Therapy explores issues that are usually either omitted or pathologized in generalist feminist counseling texts such as women battered by their pimps, women who self-mutilate, and psychiatrized women. Other topics covered are working with lesbians; American Indian, African American, Jewish, and immigrant women; women with disabilities; working with heterosexual couples; sexual violation by therapists; and working with suicidal clients. A list of recommended readings follows each chapter. Radical Feminist Therapy addresses the needs of both students and practitioners in the areas of psychology, counseling, social work, and women′s studies who desire a comprehensive, enlightening text they will refer to again and again. "Burstow′s book should prove very useful as a resource for practitioners in a wide variety of areas dealing with violence against women. . . . The first part of the book presents the theoretical foundations; the remaining 12 chapters integrate theory and practice. Written from a well-articulated radical feminist position, the text is grounded in structuralist theory that situates problems in living within the systematic oppressions of classism, sexism, and racism. Respect for women and for their right to make their own decisions in therapy permeates the text." --Choice "This book fills a gap in the literature addressed by no other publication I have seen. There are numerous theoretical books on feminist counseling or therapy. But I have seen nothing which moves from theory to clear, practical suggestions on what to do and how to do it when working with women on different problems. Bonnie begins by presenting a clear feminist framework in which she sees violence against women in our society as the central problem in all women′s lives. She explains how this core issue plays itself out in different areas of women′s lives and how it is central to the personal problems women struggle with. She then goes on to give practical, concrete suggestions about how to actually work with women in therapy. She warns readers of common pitfalls and how to avoid them. It is an extremely cohesive and useful piece of work." --Linda Advokaat, Feminist Counselor, Sessional Instructor, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada "As a presentation of theory translated into casework, this is the best I have seen in its field--a deft integration of politics and philosophy, made relevant and workable in the chosen context." --Counselling

This book critically discusses feminist theories founded on a female understanding of sex and gender. It examines how gender is sociologically constructed within sexual abuse relations and develops a more open theoretical approach based upon the assumption that gender is created through a lifelong process of interaction.

Theorizing Gender Violence introduces students to critical sociological theories used to understand and respond to gender violence. The text emphasizes feminist theory and demonstrates how other theories have supported, challenged, and expanded upon feminist theory to shape and enrich various approaches to and perspectives regarding the subject. The text examines multiple types of gender violence, including physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual, as well as a range of contexts of violence, including domestic violence, campus sexual assault, stalking, and more. Dedicated chapters examine theories commonly used by researchers and practitioners, including Johnson's typology, male peer support theory, intersectionality, queer theory, ecological frameworks, and routine activities theory. For each, students read a vignette, learn the background of the theory, examine an analysis of the theory, and then engage more deeply with the material through reflection questions, a case example, and a reflection contributed by a scholar in the field. The text concludes by summarizing the theories, identifying their similarities and differences, and discussing the current state and the future of the field. Theorizing Gender Violence is part of the Cognella Series on Family and Gender-Based Violence, an interdisciplinary collection of textbooks featuring cross-cultural perspectives, cutting-edge strategies and interventions, and timely research on family and gender-based violence.

For too long feminism and multiculturalism have been co-opted by the forces they seek to dismantle. However, in this manifesto, Francoise Verges argues that feminists should no longer be handmaidens of capitalism, colonialism and imperialism and fight the system that created the boss, built the prisons and polices women's bodies.Attuned to the temporalities of contemporary struggles, the book incorporates issues such as Eurocentrism, whiteness, power, inclusion and exclusion, within feminist discourse. Throughout we touch upon feminist and anti-racist histories, as well as assessing contemporary activism, including #MeToo and the Women's Strike.Centring colonialism and imperialism within intersectional Marxism, this is an urgent demand to free ourselves from the capitalist, imperialist forces that oppress us.

Presents the author's analysis of politics, sexuality and the law from the perspective of women. Using the debate over Marxism and feminism as a point of departure, MacKinnon develops a theory of gender centred on sexual subordination and applies it to the State.

This collection re-imagines the field of criminology with insights gleaned from feminist theory. Works included here illustrate that gender is a key organizing principle of social life. This means that men and women have gender, that patriarchy as well as gender must be theorized, and that other systems of oppression such as race and class must also be studied to fully understand the crime problem and the criminal justice system. Finally, the articles collected here exemplify the feminist concern for thinking consciously about how and why we do our research with the crucial goal of producing knowledge that will promote social justice.