Violence and abuse occur regularly and sometimes routinely within families of all different kinds. Home Truths analyzes the structural constructionist perspective on the origins and effects of violence, abuse and inequality to illustrate the different forms of power relations that exist and how they operate at an institutional and societal plane, and also at an individual level.

This is a timely review of academic and professional literature on the family, in particular with reference to gender, soical inequality and ethnicity. Issues of marital rape, female mutilation and children who murder are tackled, and scrutinized alongside social policy and legislation.