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Domestic Violence : Violence Between Adult Intimate Partners

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Domestic Violence

Introduction

Domestic Violence isn 't just hitting, or fighting, or an occasional mean argument. It 's a chronic abuse of power. The abuser tortures and controls the victim by calculated threats, intimidation, and physical violence. Actual physical violence is often the end result of months or years of intimidation and control.

Defining the problem: Domestic violence is violence between adult intimate partners.

Though the definition above seems simple enough (it is widely accepted in the law enforcement community as the definition), the application of the definition varies quite significantly from organization to organization, state to state, and country to country. The term "intimate partners" in some cases refers only to people who are cohabitating or have cohabited (lived together) whereas at other times "intimate partners" refers to people who are dating or who have dated at some time in the past.

Perhaps a better definition of domestic violence is emotional abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse between people who have at some time had an intimate or family relationship.

What is Emotional Abuse?

Emotional abuse is when an intimate partner has...

• continually criticized you, called you names or shouted at you
• insulted or driven away your friends or family
• humiliated you in private or public
• kept you from working, controlled your money or made all the decisions
• refused to work or to share money
• taken car keys or money from you

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