Dilemmas and Decision Making in Domestic Abuse enables readers to follow health and social care practitioners’ thinking processes to unpack a range of elements of domestic abuse situations and develop a systematic approach to decision-making.

Domestic abuse can be defined as a pattern of behaviour in any relationship, which is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Each chapter presents a scenario with an annotated framework for thinking through key ideas, which allows the readers to explore the breadth of complex factors associated with domestic abuse. Readers will learn how to assist victims, ensure their safety and be vigilant and open to modes of abuse that sit outside the stereotypical occurrences in a safe and ethical manner. Students on health and social care, social work, nursing and counselling courses can explore how to address difficult conversations in their professional environments, challenge their thinking and encourage ethical decision-making.

Current practitioners in these fields will benefit from the opportunity to explore professional dilemmas they may not yet have witnessed in their own practice-learning experiences and uncover new theories that will help with future decision-making.

Julia Hubbard is Emeritus Professor affiliated with the University of East Anglia, UK, with a clinical background in adult nursing. She is a highly experienced academic having worked in university-level healthcare education since 1993 and has been involved in curriculum development and course delivery across a range of healthcare professions, both nationally and internationally.

Sarah Housden is Associate Professor in Health Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK, and an occupational therapist. She has worked in a variety of health and care settings, promoting the holistic well-being of adults of working age and older people. Sarah has a doctorate in education and is passionate about supporting interactive learning experiences to bring about lasting changes in practice.