Intimate Partner Violence: Overall Definition Intimate partner violence includes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression (including coercive tactics) by a current or former intimate partner (i.e., spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, dating partner, or ongoing sexual partner).
Intimate Partner: An intimate partner is a person with whom one has a close personal relationship that may be characterized by the partners’ emotional connectedness, regular contact, ongoing physical contact and sexual behavior, identity as a couple, and familiarity and knowledge about each other’s lives. The relationship need not involve all of these dimensions. Intimate partner relationships include current or former: spouses (married spouses, common-law spouses, civil union spouses, domestic partners); boyfriends/girlfriends; dating partners; or ongoing sexual partners. Intimate partners may or may not be cohabiting. Intimate partners can be opposite or same sex. If the victim and the perpetrator have a child in common and a previous relationship but no current relationship, then by definition they fit into the category of former intimate partner. States differ as to what constitutes a common-law marriage. It is recommended that you know what qualifies as a common-law marriage in your state.
Physical Violence: Physical violence is defined as the intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing death, disability, injury, or harm. Physical violence includes, but is not limited to: scratching, pushing, shoving, throwing, grabbing, biting, choking, shaking, hair-pulling, slapping, punching, hitting, burning, use of a weapon (gun, knife, or other object), and use of restraints or one’s body, size, or strength against another person. Physical violence also includes coercing other people to commit any of the above acts.
Sexual Violence: Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act that is committed or attempted by another person without freely given consent of the victim or against someone who is unable to consent or refuse. It includes: forced or alcohol/ drug facilitated penetration of a victim; forced or alcohol/drug facilitated incidents in which the victim was made to penetrate a perpetrator or someone else; nonphysically pressured unwanted penetration; intentional sexual touching; or non-contact acts of a sexual nature. Sexual violence can also occur when a perpetrator forces or coerces a victim to engage in sexual acts with a third party. Sexual violence involves a lack of freely given consent as well as situations in which the victim is unable to consent or refuse:
Consent: Words or overt actions by a person who is legally or functionally competent to give informed approval, indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact.
Inability to Consent: A freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact could not occur because of the victim’s age, illness, mental or physical disability, being asleep or unconscious, or being too intoxicated (e.g., incapacitation, lack of consciousness, or lack of awareness) through their voluntary or involuntary use of alcohol or drugs.
Inability to Refuse: Disagreement to engage in a sexual act was precluded because of the use or possession of guns or other non-bodily weapons, or due to physical violence, threats of physical violence, intimidation or pressure, or misuse of authority.
Sexual violence is divided into the following types:
• Completed or attempted forced penetration of a victim
• Completed or attempted alcohol/drug-facilitated penetration of a victim
• Completed or attempted forced acts in which a victim is made to penetrate a perpetrator or someone else
• Completed or attempted alcohol/drug-facilitated acts in which a victim is made to penetrate a perpetrator or someone else
• Non-physically forced penetration which occurs after a person is pressured verbally or through intimidation or misuse of authority to consent or acquiesce
• Unwanted sexual contact
• Non-contact unwanted sexual experiences
Penetration: Penetration involves physical insertion, however slight, of the penis into the vulva; contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus; or physical insertion of a hand, finger, or other object into the anal or genital opening of another person.
Penetration of Victim
Penetration of the Victim by Force - Includes completed or attempted unwanted vaginal (for women), oral, or anal insertion through use of physical force or threats to physically harm toward or against the victim. Examples include pinning the victim’s arms, using one’s body weight to prevent movement or escape, use of a weapon or threats of use, and assaulting the victim.
Penetration of Victim by Alcohol/drug-facilitation - Includes completed or attempted unwanted vaginal (for women), oral, or anal insertion when the victim was unable to consent due to being too intoxicated (e.g., incapacitation, lack of consciousness, or lack of awareness) through their voluntary or involuntary use of alcohol or drugs.
Victim was Made to Penetrate
Victim was Made to Penetrate a Perpetrator or Someone Else by Force - Includes times when the victim was made, or there was an attempt to make the victim, sexually penetrate a perpetrator or someone else without the victim’s consent because the victim was physically forced or threatened with physical harm. Examples include pinning the victim’s arms, using one’s body weight to prevent movement or escape, use of a weapon or threats of use, and assaulting the victim.
Victim was Made to Penetrate a Perpetrator or Someone Else by Alcohol/drug-facilitation - Includes times when the victim was made, or there was an attempt to make the victim, sexually penetrate a perpetrator or someone else without the victim’s consent because the victim is unable to provide consent due to being too intoxicated (e.g., incapacitation, lack of consciousness, or lack of awareness) through their voluntary or involuntary use of alcohol or drugs.
Nonphysically pressured unwanted penetration: Victim was pressured verbally or through intimidation or misuse of authority to consent or acquiesce to being penetrated. Examples include being worn down by someone who repeatedly asked for sex or showed they were unhappy; feeling pressured by being lied to, or being told promises that were untrue; having someone threaten to end a relationship or spread rumors; and sexual pressure due to someone using their influence or authority (this is not an exhaustive list).
Unwanted Sexual Contact: Intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person without his or her consent, or of a person who is unable to consent or refuse. Unwanted sexual contact can be perpetrated against a victim or by making a victim touch the perpetrator. Unwanted sexual contact could be referred to as sexual harassment in some contexts (e.g., school or workplace).
Non-Contact Unwanted Sexual Experiences: Sexual violence that does not include physical contact of a sexual nature between the perpetrator and the victim. This occurs against a person without his or her consent, or against a person who is unable to consent or refuse. Some acts of non-contact unwanted sexual experiences occur without the victim’s knowledge. This type of sexual violence can occur in many different venues (e.g., school, workplace, in public, or through technology).
Non-contact unwanted sexual experiences includes acts such as:
• Unwanted exposure to sexual situations - pornography, voyeurism, exhibitionism (this is not an exhaustive list)
• Verbal or behavioral sexual harassment - making sexual comments, spreading sexual rumors, sending unwanted sexually explicit photographs, or creating a sexually hostile climate, in person or through the use of technology (this is not an exhaustive list)
• Threats of SV to accomplish some other end such as threatening to rape someone if he or she does not give the perpetrator money; threatening to spread sexual rumors if the victim does not have sex with them (this is not an exhaustive list)
• Unwanted filming, taking or disseminating photographs of a sexual nature of another person (this is not an exhaustive list
Tactics: Methods used by the perpetrator to coerce someone to engage in or be exposed to a sexual act. The following are tactics used to perpetrate SV (this is not an exhaustive list):
• Use or threat of physical force toward a victim in order to gain the victim’s compliance with a sexual act (e.g., pinning the victim down, assaulting the victim)
• Administering alcohol or drugs to a victim in order to gain the victim’s compliance with a sexual act (e.g., drink spiking)
• Taking advantage of a victim who is unable to provide consent due to intoxication or incapacitation from voluntary consumption of alcohol, recreational drugs, or medication
• Exploitation of vulnerability (e.g., immigration status, disability, undisclosed sexual orientation, age) • Intimidation
• Misuse of authority (e.g., using one’s position of power to coerce or force a person to engage in sexual activity)
• Economic coercion, such as bartering of sex for basic goods, like housing, employment/wages, immigration papers, or childcare
• Degradation, such as insulting or humiliating a victim
• Fraud, such as lies or misrepresentation of the perpetrator’s identity • Continual verbal pressure, such as when the victim is being worn down by someone who repeatedly asks for sex or, for example, by someone who complains that the victim doesn’t love them enough
• False promises by the perpetrator (e.g., promising marriage, promising to stay in the relationship, etc.)
• Nonphysical threats such as threats to end a relationship or spread rumors • Grooming and other tactics to gain a child’s trust
• Control of a person’s sexual behavior/sexuality through threats, reprisals, threat to transmit STD’s, threat to force pregnancy, etc.
Stalking: A pattern of repeated, unwanted, attention and contact that causes fear or concern for one’s own safety or the safety of someone else (e.g., family member, close friend). Stalking acts by a perpetrator can include, but are not limited to:
• Repeated and unwanted phone calls, voice messages, text messages, pages, and hang-ups
• Repeated and unwanted emails, instant messages, or messages through websites (e.g., Facebook)
• Leaving cards, letters, flowers, or presents when the victim doesn’t want them • Watching or following from a distance
• Spying with a listening device, camera, or global positioning system (GPS)
• Approaching or showing up in places (e.g., home, work, school) when the victim does not want to see them
• Leaving strange or potentially threatening items for the victim to find
• Sneaking into the victim’s home or car and doing things to scare the victim by letting them know they (perpetrator) had been there
• Damaging the victim’s personal property, pets or belongings
• Harming or threatening to harm the victim’s pet
• Making threats to physically harm the victim
Criteria for stalking victimization: Victim must have experienced multiple stalking tactics or a single stalking tactic multiple times by the same perpetrator and:
• felt fearful or
• believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed as a result of the perpetrator’s behavior
Psychological Aggression Use of verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to: a) harm another person mentally or emotionally, and/or b) exert control over another person.
Psychologically aggressive acts are not physical acts of violence, and in some cases may not be perceived as aggression because they are covert and manipulative in nature. Nevertheless, psychological aggression is an essential component of intimate partner violence for a number of reasons.
First, psychological aggression frequently co-occurs with other forms of intimate partner violence and research suggests that it often precedes physical and sexual violence in violent relationships.
Second, acts of psychological aggression can significantly influence the impact of other forms of intimate partner violence (e.g., the fear resulting from being hit by an intimate partner will likely be greater had the intimate partner previously threatened to kill the victim).
Third, research suggests that the impact of psychological aggression by an intimate partner is every bit as significant as that of physical violence by an intimate partner. However, further work needs to be done related to the measurement of psychological aggression, particularly how to determine when psychologically aggressive behavior crosses the threshold into psychological abuse.
Psychological aggression can include, but is not limited to:
• Expressive aggression (e.g., name-calling, humiliating, degrading, acting angry in a way that seems dangerous).
• Coercive control (e.g., limiting access to transportation, money, friends, and family; excessive monitoring of a person’s whereabouts and communications; monitoring or interfering with electronic communication (e.g., emails, instant messages, social media) without permission; making threats to harm self; or making threats to harm a loved one or possession). • Threat of physical or sexual violence (e.g., “I’ll kill you;” “I’ll beat you up if you don’t have sex with me;” brandishing a weapon)—use of words, gestures, or weapons to communicate the intent to cause death, disability, injury, or physical harm. Threats also include the use of words, gestures, or weapons to communicate the intent to compel a person to engage in sex acts or sexual contact when the person is either unwilling or unable to consent.
• Control of reproductive or sexual health (e.g., refusal to use birth control; coerced pregnancy terminations).
• Exploitation of victim’s vulnerability (e.g., immigration status, disability, undisclosed sexual orientation).
• Exploitation of perpetrator’s vulnerability (e.g., perpetrator’s use of real or perceived disability, immigration status to control a victim’s choices or limit a victim’s options). For example, telling a victim “if you call the police, I could be deported.”
• Gaslighting (i.e., “mind games”) – presenting false information to the victim with the intent of making them doubt their own memory and perception.
Victim: Person who is the target of IPV.
Perpetrator: Person who inflicts the IPV.
Violent Episode: A single act or series of acts of violence that are perceived to be connected to each other and that may persist over a period of minutes, hours, or days. A violent episode may involve single or multiple types of violence (e.g., physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and/or psychological aggression).
Most Recent Violent Episode Perpetrated by An Intimate Partner: For victims who have had only one violent intimate partner, the most recent violent episode perpetrated by that intimate partner; for victims who have had more than one violent intimate partner, the violent episode perpetrated most recently, by the violent partner who committed it. Thus, the most recent violent episode perpetrated by an intimate partner may have been perpetrated by someone other than the victim’s current or most recent intimate partner. For example, if a woman has been victimized by both her ex-husband and her current/most recent boyfriend, questions about the most recent violent episode would refer to the episode involving whichever intimate partner victimized her most recently, not necessarily the one with whom she is currently or most recently in a relationship.
Pattern of Violence: The way that violence is distributed over time in terms of frequency, severity, or type of violent episode (i.e., physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and/or psychological aggression).
