Sexual assault is an extremely common part of domestic violence. Further, intimate partner sexual assault (IPSV) (previously called "marital" or "spousal" rape) is found in research to be the most common type of sexual assault, accruing longer-term trauma than stranger rape, with a greater potential for fatality when combined with battery (please see the IPSV Factsheet for more information and citations). Yet, understanding of this particular type of violence to women lags behind other types of sexual assault and domestic violence. It is essential for professionals who encounter victims/survivors who have been raped by their partners to know how to deliver equitable and compassionate treatment.

This website is for professionals who encounter women who have experienced the crime of intimate partner sexual violence. It contains knowledge useful for doctors, counsellors, police, social workers, domestic violence advocates, sexual assault workers and others.

It is also to let you know about my work in this area, and how to engage my expertise for your event or organization.

I am the coauthor with Dr. Patricia Easteal of the works Real Rape Real Pain: Help for Women Sexually Assaulted by Male Partners (Hybrid Publishers 2006) and the coeditor with Dr. Easteal and Jennifer Y. Levy-Peck of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Improving Services and Support for Survivors of Rape and Abuse (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2014). Please feel free to see more information about the books here.

I give keynote addresses on IPSV to organizations, and conduct training workshops and presentations titled When the Rapist is Her Partner for professionals who will see victims/survivors. I am also the sitemistress of Aphrodite Wounded, a website offering support to survivors of IPSV, and also educational resources for professionals. I am very proud to say that Aphrodite Wounded has been recommended by organizations around the world, for people wishing to know more about IPSV, or for survivors seeking support.

On this site, you will find descriptions of my activities, and many resources and references for learning about and addressing IPSV. Please browse around, and don't forget to contact me if you would like to engage me for a workshop. presentation, keynote talk, or to contribute information to your organization's publication/s.

A note about my focus and gender: It has been put to me from time to time that I need to address men sexually assaulted by female partners, and at least one "Men's Rights" website states that I assume that women only are victims. This is inaccurate, of course; I am aware that men may be victims. However, it is a fact that IPSV is overwhelmingly a gendered, or male-on-female, crime. My work and my language thus reflect this reality. If others think the focus should lie elsewhere, then they are free to do that work but I do not feel the need to be apologetic for the focus of my own.

NEWS 2016

My third coedited volume, Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Prevention, Recognition, and Intervention (Routledge UK) IS NOW AVAILABLE. Please find out what it's all about here.

Terrific IPSV training in Brisbane and Cairns with Di Macleod and Betty Taylor. Please see an article about the training (which is available for other agencies to engage) in the June 2016 edition of the CDFVReader, page 6, and look also to page 5 for an article on domestic murder by co-facilitator Betty Taylor.

WANT AN IPSV AWARENESS RIBBON?