Domestic Violence is a pattern of coercive behavior. This pattern can include abuse of various sorts of one family member by another including:

• physical
• sexual
• economic
• emotional
• psychological

Perpetrators of domestic violence have a goal to establish and maintain power and control over their partners and/or other family members.

This violence affects people in every racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic group and includes people of all ages who have lived together or who have had an intimate relationship.

Domestic violence often escalates in severity and frequency over time and can have serious health and psychological ramifications.