11.2: Introduction

Content warning: This chapter discusses intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual violence, sexual coercion, child abuse and neglect, elder abuse, incest, and trauma. These topics may be distressing or triggering for some readers. Please engage with the material in whatever way feels safest and most manageable for you, including taking breaks or seeking support if needed.

Freedom from violence and abuse is a fundamental condition for families to create safety, stability, and trust. Yet violence and abuse remain common social problems that affect many families and intimate relationships. These harms can undermine caregiving, damage emotional bonds, disrupt children’s development, and affect relationships both within and beyond the family.

Violence and abuse complicate the idealized view of families as naturally safe, private, and protective spaces. Families can be sources of love, care, and support, but they can also become sites of power, coercion, dependency, control, and harm. This chapter examines IPV, sexual violence, consent, child abuse and neglect, elder abuse, incest, and intergenerational trauma. Throughout, it asks how power, inequality, cultural norms, family relationships, communities, and institutions shape both violence and the possibilities for safety, accountability, and healing.

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