Male violence against women: current research and future directions

This Psychology in the Public Forum section, authored by the American Psychological Association's Committee on Women in Psychology's Task Force on Male Violence Against Women and by Senator Joseph Biden, examines the prevalence, impact, and public policy dimensions of physical assault, sexual assault, and sexual harassment of women. This introduction reviews common themes that emerge from the articles that follow. It concludes by emphasizing that the problem of violence against women cannot be fully understood, let alone solved, by focusing exclusively on individual psychology. Only by changing the social and cultural institutions that have given rise to the problem can a lasting solution be achieved.