[WiLT] PULLING THE PUNCHES: DEFEATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - 29th April 2010

[WiL Admin]

PULLING THE PUNCHES: DEFEATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
You are invited to the launch of this new book by Luke Daniels

Place: City & Hackney Carers Centre,96-102 Springfield House, 5 Tyssen Street
(off Dalston Lane), Dalston E8 2LZ.
Time: 5.30 - 7.30pm
Date: Thursday 29th April 2010
Light refreshments
RSVP: 07588 022 024
Published by Bogle-L'Ouverture Press, P.O Box 2186, West Ealing, London W13 9ZQ.



PULLING THE PUNCHES: DEFEATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Author: Luke Daniels
Paperback, 224 pages.  ISBN 0904521689-0
Price: £10.95
Publication date: 29 April 2010

This book is the first of its kind - a self-help book primarily for all
perpetrators of domestic violence who want to stop their violent behaviour.
 "Luke Daniels is an expert on violence - who uses it, why, whom they hurt, what
violence achieves and the ruinous consequences. He is also an expert on change -
on who needs it and how to do it. The book brings together years of experience
of working with people who use violence. It reveals his clarity, calmness,
unyielding determination and above all his generous humanity. Read it, use it,
let yourself be changed by it" - Beatrix Campbell, OBE

The author speaks from hard experience, sharing with honesty and poignancy much
about his own background and struggles.  He admits to having hit his wife and
talks of the turning-point in his own life when, through counselling, he made a
decision always to intervene to stop violence, to the point of sometimes putting
himself at risk.

A woman was lying on the pavement with a man standing over her in an aggressive
manner.. I ran across the road, knelt next to the woman and enquired where she
was hurt. She pleaded: "Please don't let him take me with him." The man was busy
having a row with the people who had gathered, but he turned his attention
towards me.. I said: "She needs help and won't be going with you." He went
ballistic: "Who the fuck do you think you are? Trying to take my woman?"...

This book will help those who may not have the opportunity to see a domestic
violence counsellor. Survivors of domestic violence will find much in it that
empowers them. The family and loved ones of those with abusive partners will
find guidance. This book will also be useful to educators, social work students,
probation officers, nurses, doctors and counsellors. Indeed, anyone working for
a better society will find the book a mine of information and encouragement.

Locating the roots of domestic violence in patriarchal society, Pulling the
Punches discusses both women's liberation and men's socialisation for violence.
By encouraging perpetrators to focus on their own childhoods, Luke Daniels helps
them to heal from past hurts. Pulling the Punches teaches new parenting skills
to break the cycle of violence, and points the way towards building better
relationships. Practical exercises help perpetrators take responsibility for
their actions and understand and learn how to conquer their abusive behaviour.

 "Domestic violence is one of the most distressing experiences that can happen
to a man or a woman. This wise, informal and above all people-centred book by
Luke Daniels should be required reading for any person who has a problem with
violence themselves and for all those affected by it" - Claire Rayner, OBE

Luke Daniels has 26 years experience as a counsellor and is a consultant on
domestic violence and is a social activist for change. He was born in Guyana and
settled with his family in London in the 1970s. A father of eight, he believes
passionately in the need for men to take an active role in parenting. He was the
first co-ordinator of a Black Fathers project at Exploring Parenthood and has
worked with young men in schools. He has had years of experience working with
couples seeking help to overcome difficulties in their relationships. His work
counselling men at the Everyman Centre in London received national recognition
in the 1992 television documentary "Pulling the Punches". He currently works in
Hackney as a primary-care development worker.