Domestic Violence

Domestic violence refers to physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, or economic abuse and control exercised by one person against a partner, former partner, or family member within a domestic setting. It was largely treated as a private matter until feminist activism in the 1970s established refuges and challenged the idea that violence in the home was exceptional or tolerated. Rebecca and Russell Dobash’s Violence Against Wives argued that the problem is rooted in patriarchal power and the history of male authority in marriage, while Del Martin’s Battered Wives helped bring it to public attention. Murray Straus and Richard Gelles’s surveys reported high rates of family conflict and sparked debate over gender symmetry. Evan Stark developed the concept of coercive control, emphasizing a pattern of domination and entrapment rather than isolated incidents, and Michael Johnson distinguished intimate terrorism from situational couple violence. Lenore Walker described the cycle of violence, and Liz Kelly proposed a continuum of violence against women. Kimberle Crenshaw showed how race and immigration status shape women’s vulnerability and access to help. Responses include criminal law, shelters, and prevention programs. Domestic violence remains central to research on gender, power, family, health, and criminal justice.