Introduction Conceptualising the Meaning of Violence 1. Headlines from History: Violence in the Press 1850-1914 John Archer and Jo Jones 2. 'Jump on top, get the job done': Strategies employed by female prostitutes to reduce the risk of client violence Graham Hart, Marina Barnard 3. Violence against children: Thresholds of acceptance for physical punishment in a normative study of parents children and discipline neal hazel, Deborah Ghate, Susan Creighton, Julia Filed and Steven Finch Part II: Violence, Meaning and Social Identities 4. 'Taking it to Heart': Girls and the Meanings of Violence Michele Burman, Jane Brown and Susan Batchelor 5. 'Hi I'm Ramon an I run this place': challenging normalisation of violence in children's homes form young people's perspectives Emma Renold and Christine Barter 6. Understanding racist violence Larry Ray, David Smith and Liz Wastell Part III: Violence, Meaning and Social Context 7. The Constitution of Fear in Gay Space leslie J Moran, Beverley Skeggs, Paul Tyrer and Karen Corteen 8. Defined by Men's Abuse: the 'spoiled identity' of domestic violence survivors rosmary Aris, Gill Hague and Sudrey Muullender 9. Bouncers and the Social Context of Violence: madculinity, class and violence in the night-time economy Simon Winlow, Dick Hobbs, Stuart Lister and Phil Hadfield Part IV: Violence, Meaning and Institutional Contexts 10. Violence in a changing Political Context - Northern Ireland and South Africa Colin Knox and Rachael Monaghan 11. Institutional Violence: Prison Conflicts in Context Kimmett Edgar, Carol Martina dn Ian O'donnell 12. Violence, fear and 'the everyday': negotiating spatial practice in the city of Belfast Karen Lysaght and Anne Basten