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Summary
Domestic violence is a type of abuse. It usually involves a spouse or partner, but it can also be a child, elderly relative, or other family member.
Domestic violence may include
- Physical violence that can lead to injuries such as bruises or broken bones
- Sexual violence
- Threats of physical or sexual violence
- Emotional abuse that may lead to depression, anxiety, or social isolation
It is hard to know exactly how common domestic violence is, because people often don't report it. There is no typical victim. It happens among people of all ages. It affects those of all levels of income and education.
The first step in getting help is to tell someone you trust.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Issues
- Abuse, Maltreatment and PTSD and Their Relationship to Migraine (American Migraine Foundation)
- Common Reactions After Trauma (National Center for PTSD) Also in Spanish
- Domestic Violence against Men: Know the Signs (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Domestic Violence against Women: Recognize Patterns, Seek Help (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Men's Health: Violence Prevention (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
- Rural Domestic Violence (Rural Health Information Hub)
- Same-Sex Relationship Violence (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
- Stalking (National Center for Victims of Crime)
- Violence against Women: Safety Planning for Abusive Situations (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
Specifics
- Dating Violence (Healthy Roads Media) - PDF Also in Spanish
Videos and Tutorials
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Dating Violence
(Healthy Roads Media)
Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and HIV in Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Intimate Partner Violence in the United States - 2010 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2010 (Department of Justice) - PDF
- National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Highlights (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Violence against Women (World Health Organization) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Domestic Violence
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Spouse Abuse (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
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Civil Domestic Violence Resources (National Institutes of Health)
- Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
- Violence against Women: Resources by State (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
Children
- Helping Children Exposed to Domestic Violence (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
- When Your Parents Fight (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- Abuse (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Dating Violence (National Center for Victims of Crime)
- Expect Respect: Healthy Relationships (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Sexual Harassment and Sexual Bulllying (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Teen Dating Violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- When Parents Argue (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Domestic violence Also in Spanish
