The central conclusion of my book is that violence against women should be understood as violence, not sexism. Misogyny plays at most a trivial role in violence toward women. Typically, men who commit rape or assault their wives commit other crimes as well and have no more negative attitudes toward women than do other criminals. Male dominance and control may play some role in spousal violence, but that role is trivial, at least in Western countries. Evidence suggests that American wives are just as controlling as their husbands, although husbands use violence more often for that purpose.