BATTERED WIVES by Del Martin 

Pocket Books 1977 1st Vintage PB Domestic Violence

Fine clean square copy, light edge wear. Please see photos


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A study of wife beating in the United States, with reference to and victims' comments on the physical, psychological, and social effects of a complex problem

Battered Wives, by feminist activist Del Martin, is a groundbreaking 1976 book that was the first in the U.S. to analyze domestic violence, exposing its prevalence and linking it to sexism, marriage, and legal/social system failures. It provided an empathetic look at victims, analyzed the forces keeping women trapped, and advocated for systemic change, including legal reform and support services, becoming a foundational text on the subject. 


Del Martin was born as Dorothy Louise Taliaferro on May 5, 1921, in San Francisco. She was the first salutatorian to graduate from George Washington High School. She was educated at the University of California, Berkeley and at San Francisco State College, where she studied journalism, and she earned a Doctor of Arts degree from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She was married for four years to James Martin and retained his name after their divorce. She had one daughter, Kendra Mon.

Martin died on August 27, 2008, at UCSF Hospice in San Francisco from complications of an arm bone fracture. She was 87 years old.Her wife, Phyllis, was at her side. San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom ordered that the flags at City Hall be flown at half-staff in her honor.