This is an amazing read which documents a study of sixty women undertaken by the author and their experiences of and responses to sexual violence of varying kinds. Kelly sets out the idea of a spectrum of sexual violence ranging from harassment to domestic violence to rape to incest, she also stipulates that all of these forms are potentially harmful.
This study firstly sets out the different perspectives on sexual violence (it should be noted here that it only deals with acts committed against women, by men. Kelly shows historically how different offenses have been viewed and offers a range of perspectives which explain the victimisation of sexual violence. She then offers her own thoughts on the subject and introduces the concept of a spectrum of sexually motivated acts. It offers a critique of the existing research and suggests ideas for further development.
The study itself consisted of in-depth interviews with 60 women, 30 of whom had already made it clear they had survived incest, rape or domestic violence. The women were asked to identify what they thought fitted into a particular category and the results are both extremely telling and startling. This study is an amazing look at the prevalence of sexual violence and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the area.
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