Violence in any form is unpardonable. This is more so in case of domestic violence. Domestic violence is described as the violence or abuse that takes place between family members such as spouses, boyfriend or girlfriend or date. Domestic violence is also expressed in other terms:

·         Intimate partner abuse: Abuse by one’s spouse.

·         Family violence: Abuse by any other family member like father, mother
        or children.

·         Child abuse: Abuse of a child by parents or relatives.

·         Courtship violence: Abuse by a boy friend or a girl friend.

·         Marital rape: Abuse by a husband or a wife towards the spouse.

·         Date rape: Abuse of a casual acquaintance.

·         Stalking: Violation of privacy by family members or others.

Domestic violence can happen in various forms and usually begins by threats or intimidation. Most times, the abusive person is a male and the victims are most often, females. Abusing children, elders or siblings also come under the purview of domestic violence.

Forms of domestic violence

As per the research accumulated by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic abuse has verbose beginnings like threatening, name calling, hitting or throwing things. It slowly graduates to pushing, slapping or holding against the victim's will. It worsens when it enters the stage of kicking, punching or hitting and grows into a risky behavior like use of weapons, choking or bone breaking.

Various forms of domestic violence are as follows:

Physical – Physically injuring by hitting or battering which may cause broken bones, internal hemorrhage leading to death. This form of abuse is not sudden, it begins with smaller contact and grows.

Sexual – This is often accompanied with physical abuse and culminates in rape or other form of forced sexual activity.

Psychological or emotional- Abuse mostly delivered verbally with words, harassment, threats, forced isolation, destruction of personal effects and extreme possessiveness. This could result in the abuser controlling the victim's activities, time, and personal contacts. This can come into being by interference into supportive relationships, making road blocks to daily activities like keeping the car keys in possession or locking the victim at home and lying about them to gain control.

Stalking – Continuous harassment with threatening behavior that can lead to sexual or physical abuse.

Economic – Controlling the victim’s resources, especially time, money, food, clothing, insurance etc, interfering with the self sufficiency of the victim to create economic dependency.