Rice anthropologists spotlight human toll of glacier loss

Rice University

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Iceland's Glacier Graveyard. 

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Credit: Photo courtesy of Dominic Boyer/Rice University

In an important contribution from the social sciences, Rice University anthropologists Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer examine the societal consequences of global glacier loss in a commentary published today in Science.

Their article appears alongside new research that estimates that more than three-quarters of the world’s glacier mass could disappear by the end of the century under current climate policies. While the study projects the physical outcomes of glacial melt, Howe and Boyer highlight the social impacts and human stories behind the statistics — from disrupted ecosystems and endangered cultural heritage to funeral rites held for vanished ice.

“Often statistics about glacier loss can feel abstract and distant. But glaciers have literally shaped the ground we walk on, and they provide crucial water resources to about 2 billion people. For people who have lived near glaciers, their cultural meanings are often profound, representing the fundamental relationship between social and natural worlds ” said Howe, professor of anthropology and co-director of Rice’s Program in Science and Technology Studies.

The commentary draws from the authors’ ongoing work on the Global Glacier Casualty List, a Rice-based digital platform that documents glaciers that have melted or are critically endangered. The project blends climate science, social science and community narratives to memorialize a rapidly disappearing part of Earth’s cryosphere.

“The past five years have been the worst five years for glaciers since ice loss has been tracked scientifically. We’re now losing 273 billion tons of ice globally each year, but there’s a feeling that even these staggering losses aren’t enough to motivate needed climate action,” said Boyer, professor of anthropology and co-director of the Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience. “This is where we think the social sciences can work together with glaciologists and climate scientists to explain why these losses matter and how many lives and communities are impacted when these amazing landscapes disappear.”

Their publication marks an uncommon appearance by social scientists in Science, which primarily features research in the natural and physical sciences. The authors argue that addressing the impacts of climate change requires not only scientific measurement but also cultural understanding, public memory and collective action.

“As glacial loss accelerates, so do the social and emotional responses to environmental change,” they write.

The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Howe and Boyer emphasize that global climate goals, such as limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, could still preserve a significant portion of the world’s glaciers and prevent the erosion of ecosystems, economies and cultural lifeways connected to them.

“Most people on Earth will never have a chance to be in the presence of a glacier, but their loss affects us all. We still have a chance to preserve half the world’s remaining glaciers if we act together — and immediately — to reduce global warming,” Howe said. “We have lost a lot, but there is still so much that can be saved for us and the generations that will come after us: They deserve to know the magnificence and meaning of these great bodies of ice.”

The commentary was supported by the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs.

To explore the Global Glacier Casualty List, visit https://ggcl.rice.edu.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ady1688 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Social impacts of glacier loss

Article Publication Date

29-May-2025

Save twice the ice by limiting global warming

ETH Zurich

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In Switzerland, the Morteratsch-Pers glacier complex is rapidly shrinking. This ice cave, formed in 2023, marks a glacier gate where meltwater emerges. Without decisive climate action, Swiss glaciers could disappear entirely by 2100.

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Credit: Lander Van Tricht / ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel

In brief:

• Even if the rise in global temperatures were to stabilise at its current level, it is projected that the world would lose around 40 per cent of its glaciers.
• If global warming can be limited to +1.5 °C, it may be possible to preserve twice as much glacier ice as in a scenario where temperatures rise by +2.7 °C.
• This conclusion was reached by a research team with participation of ETH Zurich researchers, based on a new, multi-centennial analysis of global glacier evolution.

The findings, published today in the prestigious journal, Science, are striking. Even if global temperatures were stabilised at today’s level of 1.2°C, an estimated 39 per cent of global glacier mass would still be lost compared to 2020 levels—contributing over 10 centimetres to global sea-level rise.

In the new study, an international team of 21 scientists from ten countries used eight glacier models to calculate the potential ice loss from more than 200,000 glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctica. The team evaluated a wide range of global temperature scenarios, assuming that temperatures would remain constant for thousands of years in each scenario.

“The choices we make today will resonate for centuries, determining how much of our glaciers can be preserved,” says Harry Zekollari, co-lead author from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who began this research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Chair of Glaciology in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (D-BAUG) at ETH Zurich.

Looking beyond 2100 reveals new insights

In all scenarios, the glaciers lose mass rapidly over decades and then continue to melt at a slower pace for centuries — even without additional warming. This long-term response means glaciers will continue to feel the effects of today’s heat far into the future, gradually retreating to higher altitudes before reaching a new equilibrium.

“One of the key strengths of our study is that we were able, for the first time, to project global glacier evolution over multi-centennial timescales, and did so using eight models instead of one or two,” explains Harry Zekollari. “Most glacier studies stop at 2100, which is problematic when simulating the long-term impact of today’s climate policies, given the long-term response of glaciers over time.”

For example, while studies limited to the year 2100 estimate that around 20 per cent of today’s glacier mass will be lost regardless of future warming, the new study reveals that nearly twice as much would vanish under present-day conditions when multi-centennial timescales are considered. “We find that around 40 per cent of glacier mass is effectively ‘doomed’ to disappear,” says co-lead author Harry Zekollari.

Melting glaciers reveal the reality of global warming

"Glaciers are good indicators of climate change because their retreat allows us to see with our own eyes how climate is changing. However, since they adjust over longer timescales, their current size vastly understates the magnitude of climate change that has already happened. The situation for glaciers is actually far worse than visible in the mountains today," says co-lead author Lilian Schuster from the University of Innsbruck.

Beyond contributing to sea-level rise, glacier loss has far-reaching consequences. It threatens freshwater availability, increases the risk of glacier-related hazards such as floods and landslides, and jeopardizes glacier-fed tourism economies. These cascading impacts will be felt across regions and generations.

“These effects underscore the critical importance of present-day climate policies,” says Harry Zekollari. “Our study makes it painfully clear that every fraction of a degree matters. If we manage to limit global warming to +1.5°C instead of +2.7°C, we could still save twice as much glacier ice.”

Current policies are projected to lead to an average global warming of around +2.7°C. As Zekollari emphasizes, the degree of warming between +1.5°C and +3.0°C plays a decisive role in glacier loss. Put simply: for every additional 0.1°C of warming, the world risks losing approximately 2per cent more of its glacier ice.

Contributing to the UN-Year of Glaciers' Preservation

“This study is a major contribution to the United Nations International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, emphasizing the urgent need for global climate action to protect the world’s glaciers,” says Daniel Farinotti, Professor of Glaciology at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL.

His research group at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) played a central role in producing the new findings. The entire study led by Zekollari and Schuster was conducted as part of the Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP) and coordinated by the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) Project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).

Farinotti notes that the release of the Science study coincides with the opening of the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation, initiated by the President of Tajikistan through the United Nations (UN) Resolution that established both the UN Year of Glaciers' Preservation and, later, the UN Decade of Action for the Cryospheric Sciences 2025-2034.

On the Swiss side, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) was invited to support the organisation of the event, particularly in drafting what is intended to become the "Dushanbe Glacier Declaration". Daniel Farinotti, for his part, is acting as an advisor to the FDFA in the preparation of the declaration.

 

Reference
Zekollari, H, Schuster, L et al. Glacier preservation doubled by limiting warming to 1.5°C versus 2.7°C. In: Science, 29 May 2025. DOI:10.1126/science.adu4675

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This graph illustrates the loss of glacier mass worldwide as global temperatures rise. It shows that more glaciers—particularly in Asia and New Zealand—could be preserved if global warming is limited to 1.5°C compared to the 2.7°C path resulting from current policies. Each circle represents the proportion of glacier mass projected to be lost even if temperatures remain at today’s level of +1.2°C (blue segment). The colored lines indicate the additional long-term loss expected if warming continues.

Credit

ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Glacier retreat is a global phenomenon. The Chandran Glacier in India is a striking example of glacial change in Asia.

Credit

Alexandra von der Esch / ETH Zurich

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adu4675 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Glacier preservation doubled by limiting warming to 1.5°C versus 2.7°C

Article Publication Date

29-May-2025

 

Solar power system installations impact less than 1 percent of Arkansas’ ag land

15 counties in Arkansas will a have utility-scale solar power project by 2026

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

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Mike Popp, Harold F. Ohlendorf Professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, stands on a floating solar array in Spain.

 

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Credit: Courtesy of Mike Popp

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Large-scale solar power arrays occupy about 0.2 percent of agricultural land in Arkansas, according to an analysis by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Solar energy production is increasingly being used to meet both energy needs and zero net emissions goals within the United States. Arkansas is following this trend with several utility-scale solar energy production systems built in 2023 and 2024, and more scheduled to come online in the following years. This has raised some concerns over the displacement of agricultural land for non-food production purposes.

“With the Arkansas economy more reliant on agriculture compared to the nation and surrounding states, diversion of agricultural land to other uses draws producer and consumer interest,” said Mike Popp, Harold F. Ohlendorf Professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness and co-author of a recently released fact sheet titled “Agricultural Land Footprint of Solar Photovoltaic Installations in Arkansas.”

While generally considered to have minimal impact on crop prices, other questions about proximal real estate value impacts, exposure to weather risk and land restoration considerations exist, the fact sheet noted.

By 2026, there will be 15 counties in Arkansas, mostly in the agricultural-dominated Delta, with utility-scale solar arrays. Utility-scale is defined as 20 megawatts or larger. Currently, 11 counties have these large-scale solar projects on lands defined by a U.S. Department of Agricultural census as agricultural land. Four more utility-scale projects are scheduled through 2026, including one in Grant County on land considered “woodland or timberland areas.”

Using information gathered from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the researchers show that utility-scale solar arrays will occupy 0.2 percent of the state’s 13.7 million acres of agricultural land under current projections through 2026. In counties where these larger solar arrays are used, land use ranges from 0.2 to 1.7 percent of agricultural land.

The utility-scale solar projects range from up to 445 acres for a 50-megawatt site to up to 2,670 acres for a 300-megawatt site.

As of 2023, the state had about 15,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity, with natural gas, coal, nuclear and other energy sources like hydropower, solar and wind. According to the study, up to 133,500 acres of land would be required across the state to double the state’s electrical generating capacity with solar, offsetting demand for power from natural gas, coal, nuclear and hydropower during the day.

“Even under this extreme level of solar development, which is unlikely to happen, solar would use less than 1 percent of the 13.7 million acres of agricultural land,” Popp said.

Popp is a faculty member with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the Division of Agriculture, and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Solar’s growth

Solar energy generation has nearly doubled in efficiency in the past decade. To produce 1 megawatt — enough to power roughly 150-200 homes annually — about 5.5 acres of land is required, according to a 2022 study cited by the authors. By contrast, a 2013 study showed that 1 megawatt of solar energy production required about 9 acres of land. 

The number of solar arrays in Arkansas has also grown rapidly in recent years, with 1,100 megawatts added in 2024 and another 400 megawatts scheduled for this year.

According to USDA data cited by the researchers, solar projects have removed less than 0.05 percent of land from agricultural purposes nationwide.

Agrivoltaics

With about 28,000 acres of agricultural land comprised of irrigation reservoirs, Popp said floating solar arrays have become an interesting area for research to decrease impact on agricultural land use.

Several other opportunities exist for solar power systems to integrate with agriculture, known as “agrivoltaics,” Popp said. Combining solar installations with sheep grazing and honeybee management are commonly cited examples of agrivoltaics.

Preferred lands

Private landowners often lease land for solar development, sometimes over a 30-year contract, the study explained. Voluntary solar land leases range from $450 to $2,500 per acre with a preference for cleared, leveled or southward sloping land that are not wetlands.

“Past cost trends and future projections showcase that utility-scale projects to be the least-cost renewable energy source,” the study states. “As such, expansion of this sector is expected. With careful planning, such systems can lead to economic and environmental benefits with minimal negative agricultural land use implications.”

Authors of the study included Travis Wagher, a Public Policy Program Ph.D. student at the University of Arkansas; Hunter Goodman, assistant professor with the Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service in the community, professional and economic development department; Shelby Rider, program associate for the experiment station in the agricultural economics and agribusiness department; and Yi Liang, an associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering for the Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering.

Solar on poultry farms

Popp and colleagues in the agricultural economics and agribusiness department and the USDA’s Economic Research Service have also recently published a study in Agricultural Finance Review examining financing options for solar investment on poultry farms.

Using their Poultry Solar Analysis decision support software, they showed that a 10-year note bundled with a second loan that is repaid using income tax credits over the course of one to five years, resulted in a lower break-even electricity cost while addressing cash flow and borrowing capacity concerns. A longer 20-year note further eased cash flow issues at the cost of less favorable leverage and net present value, the study concluded.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system. 

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three system campuses.  

Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.

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Method of Research

Case study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Agricultural Land Footprint of Solar Photovoltaic Installations in Arkansas

Article Publication Date

30-May-2025

 

Study finds birds nested in Arctic alongside dinosaurs

Paper documents the earliest-known example of birds nesting in the polar regions

University of Alaska Fairbanks

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An illustration of Cretaceous Period birds with other dinosaurs from the same time period in the background. A paper in the journal Science documents the earliest-known example of birds nesting in the polar regions.

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Credit: Illustration by Gabriel Ugueto

Spring in the Arctic brings forth a plethora of peeps and downy hatchlings as millions of birds gather to raise their young.

The same was true 73 million years ago, according to a paper featured on the cover of this week’s edition of the journal Science. The paper documents the earliest-known example of birds nesting in the polar regions.

“Birds have existed for 150 million years,” said lead author Lauren Wilson, a doctoral student at Princeton University who earned her master’s degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “For half of the time they have existed, they have been nesting in the Arctic.”

The paper is the result of Wilson’s master’s thesis research at UAF. Using dozens of tiny fossilized bones and teeth from an Alaska excavation site, she and her colleagues identified multiple types of birds — diving birds that resembled loons, gull-like birds, and several kinds of birds similar to modern ducks and geese — that were breeding in the Arctic while dinosaurs roamed the same lands.

Prior to this study, the earliest known evidence of birds reproducing in either the Arctic or Antarctic was about 47 million years ago, well after an asteroid killed 75% of the animals on Earth.

“This pushes back the record of birds breeding in the polar regions by 25 to 30 million years,” said Pat Druckenmiller, the paper’s senior author, director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North and Wilson’s advisor for her master’s degree work. The bird fossils are part of the museum’s collections.

“The Arctic is considered the nursery for modern birds,” he said. “It’s kind of cool when you go to Creamer’s Field [a Fairbanks-area stopover for migrating geese, ducks and cranes], to know that they have been doing this for 73 million years.”

The mere existence of the large collection of ancient bird fossils is remarkable, Wilson said, given how delicate bird bones are. That is doubly true for baby bird bones, which are porous and easily destroyed.

“Finding bird bones from the Cretaceous is already a very rare thing,” she said. “To find baby bird bones is almost unheard of. That is why these fossils are significant.” 

The fossils were collected from the Prince Creek Formation, an area along the Colville River on Alaska’s North Slope known for its dinosaur fossils. Scientists identified more than 50 bird bones and bone fragments.

“We put Alaska on the map for fossil birds,” Druckenmiller said. “It wasn’t on anyone’s radar.”

The collection is a testament to the value of an uncommon excavation and research approach at the Prince Creek Formation. Much of vertebrate paleontology focuses on recovering large bones.

The scientists who work in the Prince Creek Formation make sure to get every bone and tooth they can, from the visible to the microscopic, Druckenmiller said. The technique, which involves hauling tubs of screened sediment back to the lab for examination under a microscope, has yielded numerous new species and unprecedented insights into the behavior and physiology of the dinosaurs, birds and mammals that lived in the Arctic during the Cretaceous Period.

“We are now one of the best places in the nation for bird fossils from the age of the dinosaurs,” Druckenmiller said. “In terms of information content, these little bones and teeth are fascinating and provide an incredible depth of understanding of the animals of this time.”

It remains to be seen whether the bones found on the Colville River are the earliest-known members of Neornithes, the group that includes all modern birds. Some of the new bones have skeletal features only found in this group. And, like modern birds, some of these birds had no true teeth.

“If they are part of the modern bird group, they would be the oldest such fossils ever found,” Druckenmiller said. Currently, the oldest such fossils are from about 69 million years ago. “But it would take us finding a partial or full skeleton to say for sure.”

Other collaborators on the paper include Daniel Ksepka from the Bruce Museum, John Wilson from Princeton University, Jacob Gardner from the University of Reading, Gregory Erickson from Florida State University, Donald Brinkman and Caleb Brown from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and the University of Alberta (Brown is also affiliated with the University of Manitoba), Jaelyn Eberle from the University of Colorado Boulder and Chris Organ from Montana State University.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Pat Druckenmiller, 907-474-6989, psdruckenmiller@alaska.edu. Lauren Wilson, 406-223-4762, lauren.wilson@princeton.edu

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos, illustrations and video clips are available for download from the UAF press download folder.

The tip of a hatchling bird beak sits on the end of a finger.

Credit

Photo by Pat Druckenmiller

Joe Keeney, Patrick Druckenmiller and Jim Baichtal excavate at a site on the Colville River.

Credit

Photo by Lauren Wilson

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adt5189 

Article Title

Arctic bird nesting traces back to the Cretaceous

Article Publication Date

29-May-2025

 

New study reveals bats are key players in cross-species spread of morbilliviruses

German Center for Infection Research

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A bat of the genus Molossus from Costa Rica.

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Credit: Andres Moreira-Soto

Bats in the tropics of the Americas are a reservoir for morbilliviruses—a genus of RNA viruses that includes the human measles virus. However, their role in spreading morbilliviruses to other mammalian species is unclear. An international team of researchers led by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the German Center for Infection Research has now studied the spread of morbilliviruses in bats and monkeys in Brazil and Costa Rica and discovered new virus species and host switches from bats to other mammalian species. The scientists call for increased surveillance and experimental risk assessments of reservoir-bound morbilliviruses. The study was published in Nature Microbiology on May 27, 2025.

Morbilliviruses are highly contagious viruses that cause serious diseases in humans and animals. Prominent examples include measles in humans, rinderpest in cattle and canine distemper in carnivores. Although rinderpest has been successfully eradicated, other morbilliviruses continue to pose a significant threat to human health and livestock. Despite their wide distribution among various mammalian species, little is known about their main hosts, geographical distribution, and their potential to jump to new species.

The evolution of morbilliviruses in bat species of the American tropics

The new study examined more than 1,600 bats from Brazil and Costa Rica. The researchers found evidence of infection with previously unknown morbilliviruses in several species of bats—including vampire bats, whose blood-sucking behavior facilitates contact with other animals. Antibodies against a newly discovered vampire bat morbillivirus were detected in more than one-third of the vampire bats examined, suggesting that such infections are common and usually not fatal.

Morbilliviruses closely related to bat morbilliviruses found in monkeys: danger for humans?

Morbilliviruses were also found in wild monkeys that died in Brazil. While there is no evidence that the viruses caused the deaths, genetic analysis revealed a close relationship between the monkey morbilliviruses and those from bats. Laboratory tests showed that, unlike the bat morbilliviruses, the monkey morbilliviruses can use the same cell receptor as the measles virus, indicating a potential risk of transmission to humans. Fortunately, further testing revealed that antibodies produced by prior measles or distemper infections can neutralize bat morbilliviruses. This suggests some cross-immunity, which could facilitate vaccine development.

"Although morbilliviruses in monkeys can apparently use the human measles receptor, it is too early to determine if they pose a threat to humans," says Dr. Wendy K. Jo, a postdoctoral researcher at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the study’s first author. "However, this study highlights the importance of monitoring such viruses in wild animals."

Cross-species transmission is more common than expected

Evolutionary analyses of the study suggest that bat morbilliviruses, as well as those from carnivores and ungulates, have crossed species boundaries several times in the past. This includes transmission from bats to pigs and monkeys. Similar host switches involving bats are believed to have resulted in the emergence of human diseases, such as SARS and Ebola, in the recent past.

"Our results show that morbilliviruses are more common and more diverse in bats than previously thought—and that in rare cases they can jump to other animals," says Prof. Jan Felix Drexler of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, study lead and scientist in the research area "Emerging Infections" at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). "This is not a reason for panic, but a clear call for vigilance."

The researchers advocate for increased surveillance of pathogens in wildlife, targeted risk assessments and, in the long-term, the development of protective measures, such as vaccines, for both humans and livestock.

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Journal

Nature Microbiology

DOI

10.1038/s41564-025-02005-8 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Ecology and evolutionary trajectories of morbilliviruses in neotropical bats

Article Publication Date

27-May-2025

 

New book with a global view of men’s experiences with partner violence

The Routledge Handbook of Men’s Victimization in Intimate Relationships, George Mason University Social Work Professor co-edits landmark book highlighting an often-overlooked group.

George Mason University

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More than two decades ago, Denise Hines began investigating a topic most researchers wouldn’t touch: men as victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). She and collaborator Emily Douglas were the first in the U.S. to earn federal funding for this line of research, publishing studies that challenged entrenched gender assumptions and provoked debate in the field. 

Their new book, The Routledge Handbook of Men’s Victimization in Intimate Relationships, offers the most thorough international synthesis of this topic to date. Drawing on research from 31 contributors across five continents, it surveys how men experience abuse across places as varied as Uganda’s rural villages, the cities of China, and crisis shelters in Denmark. 

“What makes this book different is its global perspective,” says Hines, the Elisabeth Shirley Enochs Endowed Professor of Social Work at George Mason University. “Most of the existing literature has been based in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. We wanted to broaden the lens.” 

Hines co-edited the volume with Douglas, professor of social work and child advocacy at Montclair State University, and Louise Dixon, pro vice-chancellor of education at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland.   

Geared toward both academics and frontline professionals—including therapists, social workers, law enforcement, and legal advocates—the book highlights where current systems fall short and prescribes changes needed in prevention, policy, and services for male IPV victims. 

Hines authored two central chapters, reviewing international studies on heterosexual men abused by female partners. She first focuses on English-speaking countries, where the research is more established. Her second chapter surveys a more fragmented but growing body of work from non-English-speaking regions across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 

“I think this work gave me a better global sense of what colleagues are working on,” Hines says. “It also showed where the gaps are—for example, there’s far less research coming out of Latin America than Africa.” 

As the book’s preface notes, the field of family violence has historically excluded male victims from the narrative. Early researchers who challenged that framework—such as Murray Straus, Suzanne Steinmetz, and Richard Gelles—faced intense backlash, including bomb threats, campaigns to have their tenure revoked, and defamation. Hines recalls similar reactions to her early work, including an online accusation that she was a male abuser using his academic standing to further abuse women and provide excuses to male abusers. 

Despite that resistance, the field has evolved. Hines’ new handbook urges a more inclusive, evidence-based approach, accounting for men’s experiences across cultures, ages, sexual orientations, and social contexts. 

“Partner violence doesn’t fit one mold,” Hines says. “Our laws and our systems need to change to become more inclusive of the range of victims of partner violence.”