Intimate partner violence (
IPV) is
domestic violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an
intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner.
[1][2] IPV can take a number of forms, including
physical,
verbal,
emotional,
economic and
sexual abuse. The
World Health Organization (WHO) defines IPV as "any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors."
[3] IPV is sometimes referred to simply as battery, or as spouse or partner abuse.
[4]
The most extreme form of IPV is termed
intimate terrorism,
coercive controlling violence, or simply
coercive control.
Resistance to intimate terrorism, which is a form of
self-defense, and is termed
violent resistance, is usually conducted by women.
[10][11]
The most common but less injurious form of intimate partner violence is
situational couple violence (also known as
situational violence), which is conducted by men and women nearly equally,
[6][4][10] and is more likely to occur among younger couples, including adolescents (see
teen dating violence) and those of college age.
[10][18] Another form of violence, in which both partners in the relationship engage in controlling and violent behavior, is called
mutual violent control.
Intimate partner violence - Wikipedia
