Domestic and Family Violence

Silke Meyer is a Professor of Social Work at Griffith University and an Adjunct Professor with the Office of the Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, Southern Cross University, Australia. Andrew Frost is an adjunct senior academic at the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, CQUniversity Australia and at Ara Institute of Canterbury in Aotearoa New Zealand.

"Meyer and Frost have produced a rare thing: a textbook that actually walks the walk of a perpetrator pattern-based approach. By centering perpetratorhood early in the book, they make clear from the outset that the perpetrator's behaviour is the source of the problem—while avoiding the reductionism that so often flattens this work. They hold perpetrators accountable while situating them as multi-dimensional people embedded in family and community contexts, an approach that aligns with what adult and child survivors consistently tell us: the behaviour must change, but arrest and court orders alone won't get us there.The book's use of a postmodern lens—treating narratives around perpetration and victimisation as constructed—is intellectually honest and practically useful, creating space for dialogue without sliding into essentialism or dogmatism. It surveys diverse theories and perspectives while still maintaining a clear moral compass on the harms of domestic and family violence.Particularly powerful is the attention to children. The sections on DFV-related adult homicide and the murder of children by domestic abuse perpetrators—framed squarely within a coercive control lens and the dynamics of revenge on survivors for leaving—highlight linkages that the child protection world has been slow to reckon with. Their work deepens and reinforces the connection between domestic abuse and child maltreatment that Safe & Together has long championed.This is the kind of book that changes how practitioners think—and therefore how they act."David Mandel, CEO and Founder, Safe & Together Institute."As different forms of DFV have emerged from behind closed doors, the complexity of the issue has grown. Simple explanations just don't serve anyone well. The authors have recognised that the way we talk across all the spaces we work in requires a real openness to finding common ground while being honest about where we differ. At the heart of it, they have kept the focus where it matters most: on the people caught up in DFV. This book gives us a shared framework and a common language, so that our professional conversations don't end up reflecting the very dynamics we're working so hard to change. That's no small thing."Ken McMaster, Director, Hall McMaster & Associates, New Zealand."This book is a wonderful resource for any practitioner, educator or student trying to understand the complexity of domestic and family violence - including its causes, consequences, and responses. It is both theoretically and historically rich, but at the same time discusses practical strategies to tackle the issues. The writing is clear and concise with a helpful summary provided at the end of each chapter and plenty of references for those who want to explore further." Professor Heather Douglas AM, Associate Dean (Advancement and Engagement), Deputy Director (Interdisciplinary and translational research), ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne."Meyer and Frost have created an invaluable resource for students and practitioners seeking to understand the complexities of domestic and family violence. The book is a comprehensive, deeply researched, measured, and thought-provoking compendium of what we know, what we think, and what is disputed about domestic and family violence."Professor Leigh Goodmark, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Marjorie Cook Professor of Law, University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law.

• 1. Introduction. 2. The nature and prevalence of domestic and family violence. 3. Theoretical strands. 4. Enacting violence in the context of intimate and family relationships: Understanding perpetratorhood. 5. Resisting violence in the context of intimate and family relationships: Understanding victimhood. 6. The burden on children. 7. Not just a heterosexual, intimate relationship problem. 8. The vulnerability of the displaced and the dispossessed: Promoting culturally informed and safe service system responses. 9. Tackling domestic and family violence: Primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. 10. Responding to domestic and family violence: Good practices. 11. Conclusion.