Next time, she'll be dead

We take for granted our right to freedom from bodily harm. But every year in America, nearly four million women are beaten by their husbands or lovers. Every day, four women are killed. And who deprives these women of their constitutional right? We do. Despite shelters, support groups, and advocacy programs, the abuse of women in this country is worse than ever. Judges refuse to punish batterers, doctors send battered women home with tranquilizers, journalists describe murdered wives and girlfriends as victims of "tragic love." And too many friends and neighbors simply stand by, asking "Why doesn't she just leave?" when in fact women do leave in vast numbers, braving the loss of everything, and they are still beaten, raped, and murdered after they have gone. In her powerful new book, best-selling author Ann Jones explains how we unwittingly encourage violence against women in America and how we can change our ways. She exposes the dangerous stereotypes we all share, habits of mind that warp our views and skew our responses to male violence against women. Unlike other studies of domestic violence that focus mainly on battered women, this book looks at the attitudes and institutions that foster the problem. Citing numerous recent cases, Jones shows that judges, police, journalists, doctors, psychiatrists, social workers, clergy, academic "experts," and even many feminists still hold women responsible for appeasing men and absorbing their violence. Compelling chapters show how America's legal system denies women's rights, leaving women unprotected. Jones takes a hard look at the language we use when we talk about men beating women - language that tends to shift the blame to women and exonerate the men who beat them. She shows us how pop psychology and pop culture - movies, songs, TV shows - confuse anger and violence with love, implying that assault in a "domestic" setting is somehow different, somehow tolerable, and still somehow women's fault. Next Time, She'll Be Dead is an urgent call to action. Ann Jones offers us new ways to think about the assault upon women in this country. Her conclusion gives specific, comprehensive suggestions for what the criminal justice system, the medical and mental health establishments, the schools, the clergy, the media, and every one of us can do to acknowledge and champion the absolute right of women to be free from bodily harm.