Military wives are among the women most vulnerable to abuse in our society: isolated from friends and family in a culture that ostracizes those who speak up, they face desperate financial circumstances and lack professional support in times of crisis.

Deborah Harrison and her collaborators interview more than 100 survivors of abuse and their partners in this groundbreaking study of violence against women in military communities. Despite a policy of zero tolerance, abusive behaviour continues, fostered by a culture centred on constant preparation for violent conflict and covered up by an ethos that demands members protect one another at all costs.

The First Casualty is a riveting account of how military culture contributes to abuse, keeps it secret, and attempts to silence its victims.

DEBORAH HARRISON is Professor of Sociology and past Director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick. She has published work on a number of aspects of Canadian society, including her co-authored book, No Life Like It: Military Wives in Canada (Lorimer, 1994). She is a member of the Canadian Forces Advisory Council to Veterans Affairs Canada.

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