It is interesting to note, in the context of this issue with its particular emphasis on sexual abuse, that Marital Violence: The Community Response, published in 1983 and now reissued, contains no explicit discussion of this subject.

The research on which the book is based was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Security and undertaken between 1977 and 1980 by staff in the Department of Applied Social Studies at the University of Bristol, with the aim of exploring attitudes of solicitors, local authority social workers, health visitors, and GPs towards marital violence. It examines the incidence of marital violence and the nature of its victims, the challenges relating to definition, explanation, evidence, privacy, and confidentiality, as well as professional role and agency considerations, and the significance of the choice of agency to which those experiencing marital violence turn for help, concluding with some policy recommendations.