The selections and the introductions to each group of articles aim to enable students and casual readers to begin to develop the critical thinking skills important to evaluating opinionated material and to provide researchers with primary sources taken from a wide gamut of documents. Individual papers argue that violence, domestic assault, rape, and acquaintance rape are serious problems for women; that the seriousness of female violence against men has been exaggerated; that the seriousness of all types of violence against women has been exaggerated; and that female violence against men is a serious problem. Additional articles examine biological, psychological, and sociocultural causes of violence against women, with particular attention to the roles of alcohol abuse, pornography, patriarchal customs, capitalism, and learned gender roles. Further articles argue for and against mandatory arrest laws and the Violence Against Women Act and examine the roles of court orders and family advocacy centers. Other articles focus on the prevention of violence against women through criminal justice policies, programs that empower women, the actions of churches, the efforts of physicians, group therapy for batterers, and media campaigns to promote public awareness. Index, list of resource organizations, and 71 references