The authors examine the incidence of the various forms this violence can take, including violence against wives, violence against women in dating relationships, and post-separation violence. This is followed by a review of the causes of violence against women, as well as community and state responses to violence against women. The chapter concludes with a brief comparison of violence against women in Canada and the United States. Statistics are cited to show that although Canada's rate of "street crime" is much lower than that of the United States, data show that Canadians are equally, if not more, violent in intimate heterosexual contexts. Canadian rates of dating violence also approximate those of the United States. In considering policies to counter violence against women, the authors note that some policy analysts argue that current approaches to violence against women are ineffective because they do not target the broader political, economic, and cultural forces that perpetuate and legitimate violence against women, such as patriarchy. 20 notes and 34 references