Fleeing the House of Horrors

Thirty-nine women and their strategies of survival are the central focus of Aysan Sev'er's newest study on women who have left abusive situations. Through a mainly feminist orientation, Sev'er analyzes abuse, its many definitions, and existing theories surrounding violence against women, and incorporates an extensive literature review of Canadian and American sources that investigates feminist, non-feminist, and social-psychological theories of abuse. She then proceeds to relate the intimate stories of women who survived. These interviews, from women outside institutional settings, candidly reveal the women's strengths and weaknesses. Some successful, some eventually destructive, the detailed stories allow Sev'er to analyse positive and negative social support systems, women's own aggression, and finally to develop a new model for post-violence adjustment. Erudite, revealing and ultimately affirming, Sev'er's study provides a new look and new hope to the issue of violence against women, and will be indispensable to anyone who is involved in women's issues.