Mainstreaming domestic and gender-based violence into sociology and the criminology of violence

Sociological and criminological views of domestic and gender-based violence generally either dismiss it as not worthy of consideration, or focus on specific
groups of offenders and victims (male youth gangs, partner violence victims). In
this paper, we take a holistic approach to violence, extending the definition from
that commonly in use to encompass domestic violence and sexual violence. We
operationalize that definition by using data from the latest sweep of the Crime
Survey for England and Wales. By so doing, we identify that violence is currently
under-measured and ubiquitous; that it is gendered, and that other forms of violence (family violence, acquaintance violence against women) are equally of
concern. We argue that violence studies are an important form of activity for
sociologists.