Domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence, domestic abuse or relationship abuse) is a pattern of coercive behaviors used by a current or former partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate or dating relationship of a romantic nature.
Persons of any race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender can be a victim or perpetrator of intimate partner violence; it can affect people from all backgrounds, education levels and socioeconomic levels. Intimate partner violence includes behaviors that cause physical harm, induce fear, prevent a partner from doing what they wish or force them to behave in certain ways.
