Wife Rape: Understanding the Response of Survivors and Service Providers

In our 20 years of campaigning to change the laws in 50 states, women often called to report their neglect by local agencies. Now, with the power given these women by Dr. Bergen's excellent, definitive documentation, neither this issue nor these people can be neglected. --Laura X, National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape "Raquel Kennedy Bergen's impressive study challenges us to look seriously at a form of violence that has been largely ignored by researchers and practitioners alike. Wife Rape deepens our understanding of the devastating experience of marital rape. Further, the study illuminates the problems practitioners and activists face as they confront wife rape. Bergen's important study promises to reopen the topic of wife rape. This book should be read by everyone involved in domestic violence research and intervention!" --Kersti Yllö, Ph.D., Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Wheaton College, Massachusetts Attending to a subject long-neglected by research and popular spheres, author Raquel Kennedy Bergen addresses the deep pain and humiliation of sexual assault suffered by countless numbers of women at the hands of their partners. Wife Rape lends voice to the personal testimonies of survivors and contrasts these stories with interviews of service providers, illustrating the lack of validation and insufficient assistance currently available to wife rape survivors. Offering insight and hope to survivors and providing critical information to service providers, this valuable volume helps readers better understand wife rape and the response of agencies to the problem. In addition, a special guide to service providers, a state law chart, and a list of organizations that provide information on rape make this book an important resource. Offering an essential check on the reality of Wife Rape, this timely and accessibly written volume is excellent reading for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, police officers, religious leaders, students, clients, and all those who would like to become better informed about this issue.