
There are various definitions of domestic violence used nationwide, reflecting both legal definitions under law, as well as descriptions relevant to specific disciplines of caregivers, including victim advocates, medical professionals, and criminal justice practitioners.
Georgia law defines domestic violence as:
Any felony, battery, assault, stalking, criminal damage to property, unlawful restraint or criminal trespass between past or present spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, or other persons living or formerly living in the same household. (O.C.G.A. 19-13-1)
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence defines battering as:
A pattern of behavior with the effect of establishing power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence.
BATTERING HAPPENS WHEN:
Whenever a person is placed in physical danger or controlled by the threat or use of physical force, they have been abused. Not all abuse is physical. Emotional abuse, economic abuse, sexual abuse, using children, making threats, using male privilege, intimidation, isolation, and a variety of other behaviors can be used to maintain fear, intimidation and power.
Forms of Abuse
Physical abuse is usually recurrent and escalates both in frequency and severity. It may include the following:
Emotional or psychological abuse may precede or accompany physical violence as a means of controlling through fear and degradation. It may include the following:
Economic abuse involves the abuser creating financial dependence by gaining control of his partners money and assets through:
Sexual abuse in violent relationships is often the most difficult aspect of abuse for victims to discuss. It may include any form of forced sex or degradation, such as:
Children are often incorporated into patterns of abuse. Abusers may also: