Domestic violence

Domestic violence has many names, including spouse abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, mate beating, and so on. In a June 1994 speech, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala referred to domestic violence as “terrorism in the home”. Whatever name we give to it, domestic violence is a very difficult problem. A definition of domestic violence commonly accepted by legal professionals is “the emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse performed against a person by that person’s spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child. Abuse may include threats, harm, injury, harassment, control, terrorism or damage to living beings or property”. Domestic violence is defined as any act that causes the victim to do something she does not want to do, prevents her from doing something she wants to do, or causes her to be afraid of something or someone, which is caused by the other person.
Like all contemporary social problems, domestic violence is a complicated issue with no simple answers. The terrible pain domestic violence causes women, children, and families is difficult, if not impossible, to describe..