It says that around a quarter of the female population faces domestic violence and that long-held prejudices, combined with new forms of anti-social behaviour such as drug and alcohol abuse, have put young women and girls at particular risk.

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As the author himself points out, easier divorce alleviated a great deal of misery: female suicide rates and domestic violence fell.

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The female equivalent went to Octavia Spencer for her role as a domestic servant in The Help.

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