What Is Domestic Violence?
Domestic Violence, also called relationship violence, is any behavior used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner through fear.
Abuse can happen in any relationship. It can happen between couples who are married, living together or just dating. It can also happen between other family members such as a parent and child, even grandparent and grandchild. It can also happen with adolescents and teenagers in dating experiences.
It can be inflicted on a person of any race, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, educational background or income level. In fact, domestic violence occurs at the same rate in heterosexual relationships as homosexual relationships, approximately1 in 3.
Domestic violence is characterized by physical and/or psychological assault and coercive behaviors that cause fear, intimidation, injury, suffering or even death. Statistics show one out of three American women report physical abuse by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.
Domestic Violence can also be described as
- Relationship Violence
- Dating Violence
- Intimate Partner Violence
- Stalking
- Interpersonal Violence
- Family Violence
- Partner Abuse
- Domestic Abuse
Health Impacts
Learn about the health impacts of domestic violence and SafeNet Erie’s Medical Outreach Program here.
