Before we can talk about intimate partner violence and how it may relate to pregnancy, it is necessary to define what we mean by an intimate partner and what we mean by violence . About three quarters of acts of violence against women older than age 18 are perpetrated by a current or former husband, cohabitating partner, or date. In other cases, the perpetrator is another family member, such as a parent or guardian, or a more casual acquaintance. We define intimate partner as a current or former partner, including a spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Because many women continue to be at risk for violence after a relationship ends, it is essential to ask about former partners, such as divorced or separated spouses, and former boyfriends, or girlfriends.
Intimate partners can be the opposite or the same sex as the victim.
To download PDF files, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader software, which is available free of charge from Adobe .