A Domestic Violence Awareness Reading List

by Paige L. Sweet

For women who have experienced domestic violence, proving that you are a “good victim” is no longer enough. Victims must also show that they are recovering, as if domestic violence were a disease: they must transform from “victims” into “survivors.” Women’s access to life-saving resources may even hinge on “good” performances of survivorhood. With nuance and compassion, Sweet wrestles with questions about the gendered nature of the welfare state, the unintended consequences of feminist mobilizations for anti-violence programs, and the women who are left behind by the limited forms of citizenship we offer them.

by Beverly Gooden

With unflinching vulnerability and compassion, an abuse survivor shares her own story of survival to answer the question “Why did you stay?,” offering help to those who want to leave and rebuild their lives and strategies for overcoming the barriers survivors often face.

by Rachel Louise Snyder

An award-winning journalist explores America's epidemic of domestic violence and how it has been misunderstood, sharing insights into what domestic violence portends about other types of violence and what countermeasures are needed today.

by Michelle Stevens

An investigative reporter dissects how domestic violence can be enabled and reinforced by the judicial system that is supposed to be trustworthy and protective and tears down the flawed logic of victim-blaming.

by Ching-In Chen, Jai Dulani, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Andrea Smith

This watershed collection breaks the dangerous silence surrounding the “secret” of intimate violence within social justice circles. Just as importantly, it provides practical strategies for dealing with abuse and creating safety without relying on the coercive power of the state. It offers life-saving alternatives for survivors, while building a movement where no one is left behind.

by Adam M. Messinger

While many similarities exist between LGBTQ and heterosexual-cisgender intimate partner violence, research has illuminated a variety of unique aspects of LGBTQ intimate partner violence regarding the predictors of perpetration, the specific forms of abuse experienced, barriers to help-seeking for victims, and policy and intervention needs. This is the first book that systematically reviews the literature regarding LGBTQ intimate partner violence, draws key lessons for current practice and policy, and recommends research areas and enhanced methodologies.

by Jacqueline Rose

Why has violence, and especially violence against women, become so much more prominent and visible across the world? To explore this question, Jacqueline Rose tracks the multiple forms of today’s violence— historic and intimate, public and private—as they spread throughout our social fabric, offering a new, provocative account of violence in our time.

by Avery Neal

Nearly half of all women—and men—in the United States experience psychological abuse without realizing it. Manipulation, deception, and disrespect leave no physical scars, but they can be just as traumatic as physical abuse. In this groundbreaking book, Avery Neal, founder of the Women's Therapy Clinic, helps you recognize the warning signs of subtle abuse. As you learn to identify patterns that have never made sense before, you are better equipped to make changes.

by Adam Messinger & Xavier Guadalupe-Diaz

In the course of their lives, around fifty percent of transgender people will experience intimate partner violence in their relationships—including psychological, physical, or sexual abuse. In Transgender Intimate Partner Violence, Adam M. Messinger and Xavier L. Guadalupe-Diaz bring together a diverse group of scholars, service providers, activists, and others to examine this widespread problem, shedding light on the often-hidden experiences of transgender survivors.

by Tanya Selvaratnam

A combination of memoir, reporting, and research, Assume Nothing is an examination of a frightening type of abuse of power. Tanya uses her abuse at the hands of former New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to expose the prevalence of intimate partner violence—and offers steps to recognize, expose, and end it.

by Lundy Bancroft

Like a constant friend, this collection of meditations is a source of strength and reassurance designed to speak to women in relationships with angry and controlling men. It helps you to digest what is happening a piece at a time so that you can gain clarity, safety, and freedom. 

by Bessel Van der Kolk

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

by Nikki Moustaki

In this bold debut collection, Nikki Moustaki explores femininity in contexts that grapple with violence, mental illness, loss, love, and relationships—poems about a gun shop owner ranting about the Second Amendment, the disintegration of an abusive relationship, three generations of superstitious women living without men in a strange world of their own creation, and a dressmaker trying to make sense of his changing world while dealing with his ill wife.