Women, Psychology and Law

The relationship between law and psychology has traditionally been examined in terms of the explicit connections between them, such as forensic psychology, the applications of psychology to law enforcement and policing, and children and the law. In this text, Fiona Raitt and Suzanne Zeedyk draw attention to a further implicit relationship between the two. From a feminist perspective, the authors critically review the current use of psychology in law and identify a powerful collusion between the two fields which works actively against the interests of women. They provide support for their argument in such areas as child abuse, domestic violence, rape and abortion. This groundbreaking international text draws on both research findings and case material from various countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa as well as the USA and Great Britain. The text should be of interest to academics and advanced students in a variety of fields, including psychology, law, criminology, sociology and womens studies.