Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence occurs when one person causes physical or psychological harm to a current or former intimate partner. It includes all acts of violence within the context of family or intimate relationships. Besides being the leading cause of injury to women in the United States, it is an issue of increasing concern because of its negative effect on all family members, especially children.

While accurate information on the extent of domestic violence is difficult to obtain because of under-reporting, some aspects of the problem are known:

• Domestic violence is not confined to any one socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, racial or age group and knows no geographic or educational boundaries. It also occurs within teenage relationships and among same-sex partnerships.
• About one out of every four women in America will be physically assaulted or raped by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. In fact, American women are more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped or killed by a male partner than by any other type of assailant.
• As many as 4 million instances of domestic abuse against women occur annually in the United States.
• Up to 35 percent of all hospital emergency department visits by women result from domestic assaults.
• Studies indicate that the percentage of women experiencing dating violence, including sexual assault, physical violence, or verbal and emotional abuse may range as high as 65 percent.
• The majority of women killed at work are murdered by a current or former intimate partner.

What are the signs of domestic violence?

If you believe you may be in an abusive relationship, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Have you ever been physically hurt, such as being kicked, pushed, choked or punched, by your partner or ex-partner?
• Has your partner ever used the threat of hurting you or members of your family to get you to do something?
• Has your partner ever injured or abused your pets?
• Has your partner ever destroyed your property or things that you care about?
• Has your partner tried to keep you from seeing your family, going to school or doing other things that are important to you?
• Do you feel like you are being controlled or isolated by your partner? For instance, does your partner control your money, transportation, activities or social contacts?
• Have you ever been forced by your partner to have sex when you did not want to or to have unsafe sex?
• Is your partner jealous and always questioning whether you are faithful?
• Does your partner regularly blame you for things that you cannot control, or for his/her violent outbursts?
• Does your partner regularly insult you?
• Are you ever afraid of your partner or of going home? Does he/she make you feel unsafe?

There are other signs of domestic violence that observers might see in a relative or friend who is in an abusive relationship:

• Being prone to "accidents" or being repeatedly injured.
• Having injuries that could not be caused unintentionally or that do not match the story of what happened to cause them.
• Having injuries on many different parts of the body, such as the face, throat, neck, chest, abdomen or genitals.
• Having bruises, burns or wounds that are shaped like teeth, hands, belts, cigarette tips or that look like the injured person has a glove or sock on (from having a hand or foot placed in boiling water).
• Having wounds in various states of healing.
• Often seeking medical help or, conversely, waiting to seek or not seeking medical help even for serious injuries.
• Showing signs of depression.
• Using alcohol or other drugs.