Intimate partner violence (IPV)

Both men and women can become victims of domestic abuse (intimate partner violence). It is a common form of violent behavior and is a major problem in the United States. Each year an estimated 1.5 million women are physically or sexually abused by an intimate partner. Approximately 25% of women in the United States will experience intimate partner violence at some time during their lives.

Intimate partner violence may involve physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, such as:

• Hitting, pushing, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning or threats to hurt you, your children, or pets. Drugging you with medicine, tying you up, and physical punishment of any kind also are kinds of abuse.
• Not trusting you or spying on you, such as repeatedly calling or checking up on you for no good reason.
• Name-calling, insults, threats, or putting you down in front of others.
• Forcing you to have sex or do other sexual acts. This can range from unwanted touching to rape, sodomy, forced nudity, forcing you to watch pornography, or forcing you to act out pornography. Preventing you from using birth control or protecting yourself from STDs is also abuse.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline can help you find resources in your area. This nationwide database has detailed information on domestic violence shelters, other emergency shelters, legal support and assistance programs, and social service programs.

Contact information

• Call 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233).
• Call 1-800-787-3224 (TTY).
• Visit the Web site at: www.ndvh.org.
• Send e-mail to ndvh@ndvh.org (e-mail is not confidential or secure).