The “Moral Harassment” by Marie-France Hirigoyen was first published in France in 1998 and is now translated into 16 languages. This book is considered for the study of violence what “Emotional Intelligence” is for the study of cognition. Do you belong to those who endure the outbursts of a permanently offensive or moody employer? Do you constantly become the target of derogatory comments and your partner's contempt? It is likely that you are a victim of a hidden war between the perpetrator and their victim, aimed at their psychological annihilation.

But why? Because the perpetrator can only exist in a relationship if the other is nullified. The victims of such a situation often do not admit what is happening. It is a web so dense and dark that it is very difficult for anyone, from both sides, to realize the gravity of the problem.

Marie-France Hirigoyen, a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and psychotherapist with extensive clinical experience, analyzes a social problem with simplicity, clarity, and liveliness — a problem which, although widespread, is little known: it is the attempt at psychological annihilation of the other through words, gestures, insinuations, without the use of physical violence.

This phenomenon is called perverse violence or moral harassment. The main characteristic of perverse violence is that it acts camouflaged. This action must be revealed so that its victim can understand what is really happening. In this book, with numerous testimonies, the author analyzes the peculiarities of the perverse relationship and unveils all its facets, demonstrating that the humiliating process is the same whether it is a couple, a family, or a business.