The Psychology of Female Violence ─ Crimes Against the Body

What are the causes of violence in women?
What can be done to help these women and their victims?
Why does society deny the fact of female violence?
This book explores the nature and causes of female violence from the perspectives of psychodynamic theory and forensic psychology. This fully updated and expanded second edition explores developments in research and services for violent women. Recent high profile cases of female violence are discussed alongside clinical material and theory. New topics include: the Victoria Climbié Inquiry, the controversy related to the diagnosis of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder in women, and the impact of pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites. New chapters address central clinical issues of working with women who kill and designing therapeutic services for women in secure mental health settings.
Other major topics include:

Women who sexually and physically abuse children
Infanticide
Fabricated and induced illness
Self Harm
The Psychology of Female Violence will be valuable to trainees and practitioners working in the fields of clinical and forensic psychology, women’s studies, sociology, psychiatric nursing, social work, probation, counselling, psychoanalysis, the criminal justice system and criminology.

Anna Motz is a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with the Thames Valley Forensic Mental Health Services. She has extensive clinical experience with women as perpetrators and victims of violence and with the staff teams who work with them. She has written widely on this topic and is the Past President of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.

Introduction. Part I: Violence Against Children. The Development of Maternal Abuse. Female Sexual Abuse of Children. Maternal Physical Abuse. Fabricated or Induced Illness. Part II: Violence Against the Self. Deliberate Self-harm. Anorexia Nervosa. Part III: Violence Against Others. Battered Women Who Kill. Part IV: Clinical Applications. Working with Women Who Kill. Hiding and Being Lost: The Need for Women Only Secure Units. Conclusion.