What is Domestic Violence?
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Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship through a pattern of behaviors that use various forms of abuse.
Domestic violence is about power and control, not poor anger management, not being out of control or under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Domestic Violence FAQs
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that can include physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, or financial abuse.
Domestic violence is a pervasive, life-threatening crime that affects millions of people across the United States. Domestic violence does not discriminate – it can affect anyone, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, or educational background.
Why do victims sometimes stay with or return to their abuser?
There are many reasons why it may be hard to leave an abusive relationship. Statistics show that, on average, it takes a woman 7 to 11 tries before she successfully leaves her abuser. Here are a few reasons why someone may not be able or willing to leave their abusive partner:
Fear: Abusers often threaten over and over that they will hurt the victim, their children, a pet, a family member or friend, or themselves. Abusers may even threaten to kill the victim if he/she leaves.
Low Self-Esteem: Abusers oftentimes put their partners down and degrade them, which can make the victim think that the abuse is her fault and that she deserves that kind of treatment.
Money: Victims may depend on their abuser for financial support, and may not have the economic means to support themselves if they leave the relationship.
Children: It is very common for victims to stay with their abusers because they do not want to ‘break up’ their family. Additionally, they may be afraid that the abuser will take the children away or harm the children if she leaves.
Are children affected by witnessing domestic violence?
- Researchers estimate that between 3 million and 10 million children in the United States are exposed to domestic violence each year.
- They can be harmed by intentional injuries inflicted by the abuser, and also by unintentional injuries from violence directed towards someone else. Children can also be emotionally abused when an abuser uses them as a pawn to coercively control the abused parent.
- Domestic violence affects children in a variety of ways that can be exhibited in their emotional, behavioral, social and physical development. These problems, when compared with children who have not witnessed domestic violence, can include aggression, depression, anxiety, lower levels of self-esteem and below-average academic performance. Since violence is a learned behavior, witnessing domestic violence can also influence how a child may condone or use violence in their own lives, especially for boys.