Violence towards women is being given an increasingly high profile in the media. Mainstream sociology, however, has yet to address it as a central issue. The various contributors to this book correct this omission by producing new research data and theoretical insights, demonstrating that violence against women is socially constructed along gender lines. The topics covered indecent exposure, psychosurgery, sexual harassment and the way violence to women is treated in courts of law. But this volume goes further than empirical description. It underlines the importance of male violence in the subordination of women. The chapters display the hierarchical nature of a society where gender stratification is fundamental and violence, and its threat, play a major role in the social control of women.