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Facts
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is the generic concept that includes the entire spectrum of coercive control, abuse and battering, exercised by one intimate partner over another.
Abuse: Domestic abuse encompasses one or all of the following:
Physical abuse includes a wide range of behaviors from restraint through slapping and hitting, coercing drug consumption or withholding medication, to aggravated assault and homicide;
Sexual abuse is defined as anything from sexual activity pressed after a physically abusive incident to threats of infidelity, coerced sex acts, forcible intercourse, denial of contraception, coerced abortion to sexual mutilation;
Emotional abuse includes threats, verbal disparagement, intimidation, degrading or contemptuous behavior, withholding communication, yelling and social isolation;
Economic abuse occurs through direct or indirect manipulation or domination of family finances, the abdication of financial responsibility, or disposition of the personal property of family members without consent;
Destruction of property includes vandalism of the home, car or other personal assets;
Threats or acts of abuse against children, significant others or family pets which encompass any of the above, in an attempt to punish, coerce or manipulate the victim of domestic violence.
Abuse is not a loss of control. Perpetrators select their targets. They often choose the circumstances of their violence, including the amount of injury inflicted by their acts. The perpetrator bears sole responsibility for his or her actions. There is no behavior by a victim which causes or excuses abuse. Not all forms of abuse are illegal. Abuse is an attempt to control the behavior and/or emotional/intellectual life of the other person and to diminish or prevent the other's free choice
BATTERING: Battering is patterned abuse in the presence of terrorizing tactics. Abuse that has at least once been physical, sexual or involved destruction of property and is either repeated or threatened to be repeated in such a way as to engender fear in the mind of the victim is battering. It is the systematic terrorization and/or domination of one person by another. Prior instances of physical, sexual or property abuse and threats of repetition create an atmosphere of extreme terror and of coerced accommodation of the perpetrator.
Battering is the extreme on a continuum of abuse; in fact, it is abuse that is systematized by an ongoing threat or actual promise of continuance. The batterer keeps his victim in a state of constant fear with implied or actual threats of further violence or degradation. While the terrorization is purposeful, it can, in fact, not be fully conscious on the part of the batterer. The batterer's intentionality is not a measurement of battering. Battering is measured by the acts and patterns of abuse inflicted by the perpetrator and by the repercussions observed and reported by the victim.
What it is Not
Domestic violence is not mutual abuse. Violence committed by individuals with brain injuries or dementia may not be domestic violence. Violence without the power and control dynamic or pattern may not be domestic violence.
Who is Affected?
- Women are disproportionately the victims of domestic abuse. Approximately 95 percent of abuse victims are women. (U.S. Department of Justice figures.)
- Nearly one-third of American women report being abused by their husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. (Health Concerns Across a Woman's Lifespan; The Commonwealth Fund 1998 Survey of Women's Health, May 1999.)
- Thirty percent of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year. (Lieberman Research Inc., Tracking Survey conducted for the Advertising Council and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, July-October 1996.)
- One in five teenage girls experiences physical or sexual abuse by a dating partner. This abuse often leads to self-destructive behavior including substance abuse, eating disorders, pregnancy and suicide attempts. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2001.)
- Previous studies suggested that intimate partners, irrespective of their races or ethnic backgrounds, abuse women. Although the overall rates may be similar, emerging research suggests that variables such as socioeconomic status, cultural background, and age may influence the impact of the domestic violence (Tjaden, P. & Thomas, N, 1998. Stalking in America: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, Research in Brief (Publication #NCJ 1169592).
Why Address This Issue?
The effects of domestic abuse on victims and their loved ones are devastating. Victims are often seriously injured or even killed by their abusers. And the abuse leaves deep emotional scars which affect a victim's self-esteem and often cause health concerns even after he or she escapes the violence. Additionally, the impact of domestic abuse goes beyond each victim to affecting children, parents, siblings, friends, and other individuals who care about them.
Domestic abuse is an issue that may make people uncomfortable. However, it is important to bring this issue out in the open so that all women and men know that they have the right to be free from domestic abuse. By breaking the silence that abusers often impose on their victims, we can help victims free themselves from their abusers' control and power. If you or someone you know is being abused call your local domestic abuse program or 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).