What is Domestic Violence?
February 10, 2010 by admin
Filed under Assault Info - Prevention, Most Common Threats
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive or coercive behaviors that may include, but are not limited to:
* physical assaults
* verbal abuse
* emotional abuse
* sexual abuse
* harassment
* threat or harm
These behaviors are used by one individual to exert power or control over another individual in the context of a family or intimate relationship. This includes relationships such as boyfriend/girlfriend who do not live together, parent/child (child or elder abuse/neglect) and persons in same-sex relationships. Overwhelmingly, domestic violence is perpetrated by men against women. Nationally, statistics indicate 95% of the victims are women.
Thousands of women and their children live in constant terror and pain as a result of family violence. The abuse can be physical, ranging from slaps and kicks to punching and stabbing; or psychological, including threats or verbal abuse that make a person fear for her or his safety.
