The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics (Sage Series on Violence Against Women) [Paperback]

R. Lundy Bancroft (Author), Jay G. Silverman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0761922776 | ISBN-13: 978-0761922773 | Edition: 1st

The Batterer as Parent takes the reader inside of homes affected by domestic violence, imparting an understanding of the atmosphere that battering men create for the children who live with them. Bancroft and Silverman show how partner abuse affects each relationship in a family, and explains how children’s emotional recovery is inextricably linked to the healing and empowerment of their mothers. The authors cover the important but often-overlooked area of the post-separation parenting behaviors of men who batter, including their use of custody litigation as a tool of abuse. Readers also are guided in evaluating change in the parenting of men who batter, assessing risk to children from unsupervised visitation, and supporting the emotional recovery of children. Although the book is written primarily for professionals, its accessible style makes it engaging and useful for abused mothers and anyone else wishing to assist children exposed to battering. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book beautifully educates the reader on the world in which batterers live and raise their children. Judges, lawyers, and others in decision-making roles will find this information very helpful in crafting appropriate decisions regarding a child’s safe contact with a battering parent." 

(Judge Bobbi Alpers )

"Excellent. I’ve been waiting for this book. It is a crisp, cogent, comprehensive exegesis on batterers, their parenting styles, their custody litigation practices, and the adverse impact of their violence on battered mothers and their children. A must read for attorneys, advocates, custody evaluators, judges, and batterer intervention service providers." 

(Barbara Hart )

"This is by far the clearest and most insightful book to appear on domestic violence and custody issues. An indispensable tool and a breakthrough for anyone handling the 50% of custody cases where domestic violence issues arise. This practitioner book is thoroughly grounded in intimate knowledge of both the research and the court system and is must reading for lawyers, therapists, GAL’s, custody evaluators, judges, and domestic violence advocates who are handling these cases." 

(Joan Zorza )

"Critically informative for those who work directly with victims or abusers. The authors provide a comprehensive road map to the many problems batterers exhibit as parents, how these affect children, and what can be done about it." 

(David Adams, Ed.D. )

"This is a groundbreaking work that elucidates the complexity of the family dynamics engendered by a batterer’s presence in the home. Grounded in a sophisticated understanding of psychological trauma, and offering important recommendations for assessment and treatment, this book should be required reading for all professionals who work with parents or children affected by domestic violence." 

(Beth Tabor Lev, Ph.D. )

"This book is a much needed beginning in the effort to examine the parenting of batterers in a more systematic manner. In addition, the book compels us to consider the significant gaps in out empirical knowledge of battering and family dynamics. The Batterer as Parent is an invaluable resource and reference book for professionals and students working with this population." (Shanti Kulkarni )

About the Author

Jay Silverman is Professor of Medicine and Global Public Health at the University of California at San Diego. He is a developmental psychologist with 20 years of experience in domestic violence, including direct counseling experience with hundreds of men who batter. He has led multiple, large-scale international and domestic research programs on issues of gender-based violence against women and girls; this work has resulted in more than 100 peer-reviewed studies. His research has included examinations of the social contextual influences on the etiology of male-perpetrated partner violence, the nature and health consequences of adolescent dating violence, history of child abuse among men who perpetrate partner violence, judicial behavior and the experiences of battered mothers in child custody cases, the role of partner violence in men’s transmission of HIV to their female partners, the nature and HIV risks associated with trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation, and the roles of partner violence in unintended and teen pregnancy, coercion regarding abortion, pregnancy loss, and infant and child morbidity and mortality.

Lundy Bancroft has 14 years of counseling and clinical supervising experience in over 2,000 cases working with batterers. He also served extensively as a custody evaluator and child abuse investigator, appeared as an expert witness in child custody and welfare cases, and led groups for teenage boys exposed to domestic violence. He has been training judges, probation officers and other court personnel on men who batter and on battering’s effects on children. He co-authored articles in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Contemporary Psychology and is co-creator of two nationally marketed curricula, one for working with batterers and one for teen-dating violence in schools. In addition, he completed a study for the state of Massachusetts on approaches to meeting the service needs of children exposed to domestic violence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1st edition (March 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761922776
• ISBN-13: 978-0761922773
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lundy Bancroft has spent the last fifteen years of his career specializing in domestic abuse and the behavior of abusive men and is considered one of the world's experts on the subject. He is the author of The Batterer as Parent and several journal articles on abuse that have appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Journal of Contemporary Psychology. The former co-director at Emerge, the nation's first program for abusive men, Bancroft now practices in Massachusetts while training various state and judicial agencies in dealing with domestic abuse situations.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best professional book I have read., June 10, 2003

By 

Nancy Hertz (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics (Sage Series on Violence Against Women) (Paperback)

This book should be a must read for all Guardian Ad Litems, Custody evaluators, Judges, Lawyers and Therapists. It explains how batterers act, why children often side with the batterer and gives an excellent guide for assessing visitation guidelines. I have only owned the book for two weeks and have already used it with three clients of mine. I am a LMFT and often work with children who have witnessed domestic violence, batterering and whose parents are fighting over custody. In reading this book I have a better understanding for the dymamics in a family with batterering. I now have research to support the things I have been recommending in regards to keeping children safe.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Male "victim" is obviously a perpetrator, January 23, 2005

By 

Laura "Survivor" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics (Sage Series on Violence Against Women) (Paperback)

Anyone with real experience and knowledge in the realm of domestic violence can clearly see that Bancroft is on target. He is one of the few authors who truly understands the dynamics of abuse and can accurately assess those who are truly abusers ... many of whom call themselves the "victims." There are definitive signs of men who abuse, though they work so hard to hide it that they get angry when they discover their attempts don't work with Brancroft.

This book is a must have for anyone truly interested in recovering from abuse or working within the justice system to stop such abuse.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, October 16, 2006

By 

KK (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics (Sage Series on Violence Against Women) (Paperback)

This book succintly provides critical information for judges, therapists, parent evaluators/GALs, and most importantly parents trying to protect their children from harm. It highlights the many misconceptions present in the legal system that enable abusers to continue to victimize their children and spouses, and explains how these situations should be addressed, backed by data to support the authors' conclusions. This is a credible well-written book that provides a rational counter to the awful theories of Richard Gardner.