Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in which someone uses physical, sexual, psychological or other types of harm against a current or former partner, an immediate family member or another relative. It can also include stalking, threats or other behaviors meant to manipulate or control someone else.
Between 2003 and 2012, domestic violence accounted for over 20 percent of all violent crime in the U.S. Intimate partner violence – meaning violence involving current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends – is the most common type of domestic violence.
