Foreword. The state of the art in research and intervention against gender based violence

This is the first number of the new international edition of the Rivista di Studi familiari, now bearing the title Interdisciplinary Journal of Family Studies. This is a monographic number focused on the issue of gender based violence, in particular on the phenomenon of intrafamilial violence against women. The problem of gender violence characterizes the whole human history and still exists in every Country in the world. Violence against women, which is one of the main obstacles in achieving gender equality and a pervasive violation of human rights, is both universal and particular: it is universal as gender violence is prevalent in every culture and it is particular because it appears in specific forms in various contexts, from workplace to family, taking many different expressions, which include physical, sexual, psychological and emotional violence.....