Interpersonal violence is behavior that intentionally threatens, attempts, or actually inflicts harm on another. This violence invades both the public and private spheres of our lives; many times in unexpected and frightening ways. Interpersonal violence is a problem that individuals could experience at any point during the life span-even before birth. Interpersonal violence is experienced not only throughout the life course but also as a global problem in the form of war, genocide, terrorism, and rape of women as a weapon of war. The Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence provides accurate, research-supported information to clarify critical issues and educate the public about different forms of interpersonal violence, their incidence and prevalence, theoretical explanations, public policy initiatives, and prevention and intervention strategies. These two volumes contain more than 500 accessible, jargon-fee entries written by experts and provide cross-references to related entries, as well as suggested readings for further information.