Domestic Violence is a phenomenon that incorporates a
systematic abuse of power and control that can manifest in a variety of behaviours that are violating.
The government has adopted the following cross-departmental definition:
‘Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of their gender or sexuality’ (areas of variance from the LDVF Partnership definition below are in italics).
The definition used by Leicester Domestic Violence Forum is:
‘Domestic violence involves the misuse of power and is based on a range of control mechanisms which include: physical, sexual, psychological, social or economic abuse or neglect of an individual by a partner, ex-partner, carer or one or more family member, in an existing or previous domestic relationship. This is regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious, cultural or political beliefs, ethnicity, disability, HIV status, class or location’.
