What can be done to stop violence against women?

There are no easy answers. Experts agree that while we can try to explain violence, we must never excuse it. Refusing to accept violence on any level is an important first step in ending it. So is teaching children about relationships based on respect. Stopping male violence must begin early on in child rearing. Young men need older men who can guide them into a gentle and responsible masculinity. Fathers can make a tremendous difference by helping to raise young boys to be mature, sensitive, responsible men.

Most experts say if we are really serious about ending violence against women, the punishment for such crimes must be harsh. Men -- and women -- must see that violence committed by strangers as well as by intimates will not be tolerated. They must be educated that any violence against women is a crime, and that if they are involved in an abusive relationship, either as victim or perpetrator, they need to seek outside help. Literature shows quite clearly that treatment coupled with arrest for domestic violence offenders is the most promising and effective combination of interventions.

No Safe Place: Violence Against Women is made possible in part by a grant from the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation and the Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation. The documentary is a production of public television station KUED in Salt Lake City, Utah.