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Author Frizzell presents a multi-faceted view of circumstances surrounding female abuse, revealing aspects that are critically important in understanding its dangers. To aid readers in recognizing the often-hidden circumstances of domestic violence, Frizzell describes its phases. In the Honeymoon Phase, the abuser may apologize, promising to change. The Building Phase involves minor displays of violence, increasing tensions, and women's attempts to placate the abuser. The Explosion Phase escalates to a total lack of control.
All those concerned with treating and curtailing such abuse must study specific actions that threaten victims. Nonfatal strangulation—pressure on the neck, headlocks, throttling and/or cords wrapped around the neck—will make the abused person (generally female, Frizzell notes) fear for her life. Nonfatal strangulation causes long-term damage to breathing, hearing, chewing, and sight. Intimate partner violence (IPV) and TBI (traumatic brain injury) can cause concussions and long-term brain injury—depression and weakness of balance and memory. Victims may become unemployed, forcing them to live in adverse, dangerous conditions. In Canada, from which much of Frizzell's data is drawn, indigenous females are often chosen as victims of human trafficking, such as prostitution and criminal activity. The need for education and policy changes among police, medical personnel, and other personnel is essential, the author states, and should be undertaken at once.
Frizzell is a practicing dentist who received training in forensics at McGill University and worked for the Canadian Armed Forces, in which he observed examples of domestic violence among civilians, prompting him to investigate these perilous abuses and their possible ameliorations. The author has sounded an inspiring call to action. His compelling work, with its compendium of professional and academic references and pragmatic suggestions, can potentially lead to needed change at all levels.
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