Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Heavy Hands

For courses in domestic violence, family violence, and victimology.
The authoritative introduction to family violence
Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Heavy Hands is an authentic introduction to the crimes of family violence, covering offenders and offenses, impact on victims, and responses of the criminal justice system. Comprehensive yet easy to understand, this established text is essential reading for students considering careers in criminal justice, victim advocacy, social work, or counseling. Gosselin draws on extensive field experience and real¿ examples to explain abuse and its effects on survivors. The 6th edition includes a new chapter on adolescent and young adult victimization, as well as updates to topics of interest such as intimate partner violence, asylum law, and theoretical perspectives.

About our author

A pioneer in law enforcement, Denise K. Gosselin was the first uniformed female officer in her hometown, Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and the first female campus police officer at the community college she attended. The Massachusetts Senate honored her in 1978 as the first woman appointed constable for the City of Fitchburg. In 2011, Dr. Gosselin received accolades as Alumna of the Year at Mt. Wachusett Community College, where she now serves on its Board of Trustees.

Denise graduated in the 61st Recruit Training Troop of the Massachusetts State Police in January 1980. During the years that followed she served as a uniformed officer performing route patrol activities, as an instructor at the Massachusetts State Police Academy, and as a detective in major crime investigations. Recognized as a local expert in child abuse investigation, she has spoken on cable television and radio. She appeared on the America’s Most Wanted television show in connection with a fugitive in a case she was investigating. She has made many presentations at professional meetings with the Department of Social Services, Department of Mental Health, and Office of the District Attorney. She has testified in numerous major crime cases in both criminal and civil hearings.

Dr. Gosselin served as a faculty member and Department Chair in the Criminal Justice and Sociology Department at Western New England University until her retirement as Professor Emerita in 2017. Her other publications include Interviewing and Interrogation: Smart Talk, currently in its 2nd edition, and Crimes and Mental Disorders: The Criminal Justice Response. Dr. Gosselin has contributed to the Encyclopedia of Police Science, the Encyclopedia of Juvenile Justice, and the Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence, as well as chapters of Women, Law, & Social Control and Policing & Victims.

Denise is an experienced criminal justice program reviewer. Her major presentations and invited lectures have been at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime and Criminal Justice in Salvador, Brazil, the Massachusetts State Police, at West Point Military Academy, Campbell University, NC, and at Gwynedd-Mercy College, PA.

As a lifetime member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), Denise has served as Region One Trustee 2013-2016 and ACJS Trustee-at-Large 2009-2012. As a member of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences, she has served as president, vice president and secretary. Dr. Gosselin is also a member of the European Society of Criminal Justice and is a co-founding member of the Everywoman Everywhere Workgroup, from the Harvard Kennedy School project of the International Commission on Violence Against Women and Girls.