Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive control in an intimate relationship.
This control may be seen in physical assault or in more subtle, but equally devastating ways. Verbal, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse, as well as isolation also fall under the realm of abusive behaviors. Domestic violence crosses all racial, ethnic, economic, and religious communities. It is often a silent crime, hidden behind family doors. The Surgeon General of the United States reports that one out of five women battered by their partners has been victimized over and over by the same person.