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Definition: Domestic Violence from The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of people in intimate relationships. The U.S. feminist movement of the 1970s brought attention to the nature and prevalence of domestic violence, and the term gained prominence. Domestic violence refers to violence, intimidation, and harm perpetrated by one person against another or others with whom the person is in a relationship. Typically, the term refers to incidents and patterns of terrorization in the home, within a family unit, and between those with personal connections. Domestic violence often involves a cycle of recurring acts that escalate so that the perpetrator cultivates and maintains power and control over the victim/s.


Domestic Violence

From Encyclopedia of Gender and Society
Domestic violence—also known as “interpersonal violence,” “battering” and “family violence”—is a widespread and serious public health problem, in the United States and internationally. The United Nations Development Fund for Women estimates that one in three women around the world will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her own lifetime. This entry looks at definitions of domestic violence, historical perspectives, domestic violence statistics, causes of batter, effects of domestic violence, children of battered women, and response and prevention. The notion of a “battered woman” derives from the criminal violation known as “battery” or the willful or intentional touching of a person against that person’s will by another person, or by an object or substance put in motion by that other person. The notion of “battered women,” with its emphasis on physical violence, fails to entirely capture the various ways in which intimate partners of either gender can be manipulated…
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Full text Article DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

From Dictionary of Policing
Domestic violence, in its widest definition, includes criminal, controlling and other harmful behaviour committed by intimates against intimates, which commonly threatens other family members, especially children. By naming the ranges of behaviour that enabled domestic violence to work as a form of…
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Full text Article Domestic Violence

From World of Criminal Justice, Gale
Domestic violence is about control. It is a pattern of coercive behavior that may include physical, sexual, economic, emotional, and psychological abuse of one family member, roommate or significant partner by another person. In a criminal context, domestic violence is best defined as knowingly…
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Full text Article Domestic Violence

From Encyclopedia of Women's Health
Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, is defined as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners. Other terms used to describe intimate…
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Full text Article DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

From Dictionary of Probation and Offender Management
Domestic violence is any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or who have been intimate partners or family members. While a broad definition has no regard to gender, crime statistics and research both…
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Full text Article Domestic Violence

From From Suffrage to the Senate: America's Political Women
Domestic violence is “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner,” as defined by the Office on Violence Against Women, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. The definition continues: …
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Full text Article domestic violence

From Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics
Domestic violence is an issue that sits at the intersection of the private and public spheres. The context in which domestic violence is defined affects the remedy available. Under coverture laws of marriage, men were allowed to administer “corrections” to their wives since they were legally…
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Full text Article Domestic Violence

From Encyclopedia of Adolescence
Domestic violence is a widespread problem throughout the world. A global research review utilizing samples from 48 countries revealed that 10–69% of women reported experiencing physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner or spouse ( Heise et al. 1999 ). In the United States, over one third…
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Domestic violence consists of acts committed in the context of an adult intimate relationship. It is a continuance of aggressive and controlling behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks, that one adult intimate does to another. Domestic violence is purposeful and instrumental…
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Full text Article Domestic Violence

From The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Domestic violence is clearly not a new problem, as it dates back to ancient times where men were in charge of and controlled women. Women were seen as the property of men and as the continuation of the family name and heritage. As a result, women were subject to the control of husbands or fathers. …
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Full text Article Domestic Violence

From Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia
Domestic violence—also known as domestic abuse, family violence, or intimate partner violence—is a constellation of abusive behaviors perpetrated by one person against another in an intimate relationship (marriage, family, dating, or cohabitation). It is a widespread global concern; studies suggest…
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