Clinical Social Worker

Community Resources

Domestic Violence (Spousal/Partner Abuse)

Definition: Domestic violence occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person.  Partners may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or even just dating. Being a victim is not your fault. Nothing you say, wear or do gives anyone the right to hurt you.

Types of abuse (controlling behavior) include, but are not limited to:

Verbal/Emotional Abuse

• Name-calling
• Isolation from your friends/family
• Threatening/intimidation
• Jealousy
• Stalking

Physical Abuse

• Hitting, slapping
• Punching
• Kicking
• Pushing
• Destroying property

Sexual Abuse

• Unwanted touching and kissing
• Forcing you to have sex
• Not allowing use of birth control

Prevalence: Victims of domestic violence or abuse may be men or women, although women are more commonly victimized.  Domestic abuse does not discriminate.  It happens within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic status. 

• In 2006, California law enforcement received 176,299 domestic violence-related calls (80,946 of the calls involved weapons, including firearms & knives)
  • 43,911 people were arrested for DV offenses
  • Of those offenders 80% were men and 20% were women.
  • 134 homicides resulted from intimate partner violence where 110 of those were women, and 24 were men.
• 1 in every 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime
• 1 in every 33 men have experienced an attemped or completed rape

* National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: http://www.ncadv.org/

* California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, “Crime in California.”      2005: http://ag.ca.gov/cjsc/publications/candd/cd05/crimes.pdf.