I was fortunate enough to meet and work with Sharon when she was the Advocacy Manager at Woman’s Trust and I was working for Westminster City Council. This included other ‘professionals’ and the women and girls whose lives could be changed or even saved if they were just given this vital information. I have known Sharon for 6 years and have had the pleasure of working alongside her when I chaired the Westminster MARAC. Ainslie O’Connor – Principal Advisor for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet – Adelaide, Australia.

Women do abuse but Pat Craven works mostly with males) dominance is still inbred in some males in our society. We have a dedicated Data Protection Officer who has responsibility for monitoring compliance, educating staff, providing advice and co-operating with the supervisory authority. An on-line version of the programme is being developed to help fill the need for information especially for international clientele. I am fortunate enough to have never experienced abuse but this book opened my eyes to the signs in another person. Once the sentence shocks you the chapter describes a different type of abusor, his tactics, why he thinks like that and where he gets his thoughts from.

It places a lot of abuse survivors' issues into context and highlights warning behaviours so you can protect yourself in the future. Another of our facilitators uses them for her Freedom Programme for women with learning disabilities. She is extremely dedicated and knowledgeable, having her on my side when dealing with someone as persistent. There are many elements of abusive dynamics that people rarely consider, and the links to wider society and how abusers' beliefs can become internalised in everyone were really interesting to me.

I am Pat Craven a former probation officer who ran perpetrator programmes for Merseyside Probation Service in the UK between 1996 and 1998. This book should really be given to high school students, both male and female as I believe the dominator's tendencies can cover both sexes. We don't talk about our own experiences, enabling a safe way to take part without anyone knowing what has happened to you. Organisations can use it to introduce their staff to the Freedom Programme and teach them about domestic abuse. From an unbiased perspective, this is an incredibly important and useful book and should be read by all women starting from college age so that they can avoid relationships with abusive men.Without the support and constant reassurance of Sharon, I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be where I am today. Written by a former probation officer for men convicted of abuse in Britain, this is a clear and concise take on the personality types of domineering men (the author acknowledges that women can exhibit these behaviors, too, but that the overwhelming majority of abusers and all of her work experience is with men being the aggressor). I listened to everything they said and became determined to impart this information to the people who had no understanding of such violence.

To introduce women to community resources such as Women's Aid, the Police Domestic Violence Unit, The Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, local Colleges etc. Some of them are rolling so women can join at any time but this varies according to local needs, etc. At 34 I was still bewildered to find that certain common place scenarios that had become the norm in my life were actually not what I should expect and that the majority of my life (obvious in most parts less so in others) has been literally dominated by this type of behaviour despite thinking of myself as strong, independent and knowing. Attending a programme with other women going through the same situation offers confirmation of what is happening, as it can all be very confusing. What I really like about this book as well is each chapter then lists the opposite of how a partner should behave and how you should be treated.

It is eye opening, informative, empowering, sometimes funny and often times sad, a lot concerning but also powerful, relieving, validating and insightful.