Intimate partner violence
Intimate partner violence is domestic violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner. IPV can take a number of forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic and sexual abuse. The World Health Organization defines IPV as "any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors." IPV is sometimes referred to simply as battery, or as spouse or partner abuse.
The most extreme form of IPV is termed intimate terrorism, coercive controlling violence, or simply coercive control. In such situations, one partner is systematically violent and controlling. This is generally perpetrated by men against women, and is the most likely of the types to require medical services and the use of a women's shelter. Resistance to intimate terrorism, which is a form of self-defense, and is termed violent resistance, is usually conducted by women.
Studies on domestic violence against men suggest that men are less likely to report domestic violence perpetrated by their female intimate partners. Conversely, men are more likely to commit acts of severe domestic battery, and women are more likely to suffer serious injury as a result.
The most common but less injurious form of intimate partner violence is situational couple violence, which is conducted by men and women nearly equally, and is more likely to occur among younger couples, including adolescents and those of college age.
Background
Intimate partner violence occurs between two people in an intimate relationship or former relationship. It may occur between heterosexual or homosexual couples and victims can be male or female. Couples may be dating, cohabiting or married and violence can occur in or outside of the home.Studies in the 1990s showed that both men and women could be abusers or victims of domestic violence. Women are more likely to act violently in retaliation or self-defense and tend to engage in less severe forms of violence than men whereas men are more likely to commit long-term cycles of abuse than women.
The World Health Organization defines intimate partner violence as "any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship". The WHO also adds controlling behaviors as a form of abuse.
According to a study conducted in 2010, 30% of women globally aged 15 and older have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence.
Global estimates by WHO calculated that the incidence of women who had experienced physical or sexual abuse from an intimate partner in their lifetime was 1 in 3.
The complications from intimate partner violence are profound. Intimate partner violence is associated with increased rates of substance abuse amongst the victims, including tobacco use. Those who are victims of intimate partner violence are also more likely to experience depression, PTSD, anxiety and suicidality. Women who experience intimate partner violence have a higher risk of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infection, including HIV. This is thought to be due to forced or coerced sex and reproductive coercion. Children whose parent experiences intimate partner violence are more likely to become victims of IPV themselves or become perpetrators of violence later in life.
Injuries that are frequently seen in victims of IPV include contusions, lacerations, fractures, strangulation injuries, concussions and traumatic brain injuries.
| Region | Percent |
| Global | 30% |
| Africa | 36.6% |
| Eastern Mediterranean | 37% |
| European | 25.4% |
| South-East Asia | 37.7% |
| The Americas | 29.8% |
| East Asia | 24.6% |
Assessment
Screening tools
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening women of reproductive age for intimate partner violence, and provide information or referral to social services for those who screen positive.Some of the most studied IPV screening tools were the Hurt, Insult, Threaten, and Scream, the Woman Abuse Screening Tool/Woman Abuse Screening Tool-Short Form, the Partner Violence Screen, and the Abuse Assessment Screen.
The HITS is a four-item scale rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5. This tool was initially developed and tested among family physicians and family practice offices, and since then has been evaluated in diverse outpatient settings. Internal reliability and concurrent validity are acceptable. Generally, sensitivity of this measure has found to be lower among men than among women.
The WAST is an eight-item measure. It was originally developed for family physicians, but subsequently has been tested in the emergency department. It has been found to have good internal reliability and acceptable concurrent validity.
The PVS is a three-item measure scored on a yes/no scale, with positive responses to any question denoting abuse. It was developed as a brief instrument for the emergency department.
The AAS is a five-item measure scored on a yes/no scale, with positive responses to any question denoting abuse. It was created to detect abuse perpetrated against pregnant women. The screening tool has been tested predominantly with young, poor women. It has acceptable test retest reliability.
The Danger Assessment-5 screening tool can assess for risk of severe injury or homicide due to intimate partner violence. A "yes" response to two or more questions suggests a high risk of severe injury or death in women experiencing intimate partner violence. The five questions ask about an increasing frequency of abuse over the past year, use of weapons during the abuse, if the victim believes their partner is capable of killing them, the occurrence of choking during the abuse, and if the abuser is violently and constantly jealous of the victim.
Research instruments
One instrument used in research on family violence is the Conflict Tactics Scale. Two versions have been developed from the original CTS: the CTS2 and the CTSPC. The CTS is one of the most widely criticized domestic violence measurement instruments due to its exclusion of context variables and motivational factors in understanding acts of violence. The National Institute of Justice cautions that the CTS may not be appropriate for IPV research "because it does not measure control, coercion, or the motives for conflict tactics." The Index of Spousal Abuse, popular in medical settings, is a 30-item self-report scale created from the CTS.Another assessment used in research to measure IPV is the Severity of Violence Against Women Scales. This scale measures how often a woman experiences violent behaviors by her partner.
Causes
Attitudes
Research based on the Ambivalent Sexism Theory found that individuals who endorse sexist attitudes show a higher acceptance of myths that justify intimate partner violence compared to those who do not. Both students and adults with a more traditional perception of gender roles are more likely to blame the victim for the abuse than those who hold more non-traditional conceptions. Researchers Rollero and Tartaglia found that two dimensions of ambivalent sexism are particularly predictive of violence myth: hostility toward women and benevolence toward men. They both contribute to legitimizing partner violence and this, in turn, leads to undervaluing the seriousness of the abuse.Various studies have been conducted that link beliefs in myths of romantic love to greater probability of cyber-control perpetration toward the partner in youths aged 18 to 30, and a higher degree of justifying intimate partner violence in adults. Myths of romantic love include beliefs in the power of love to cope with all kind of difficulties, the need of having a romantic relationship to be happy, the belief in jealousy as a sign of love, the perception of love as suffering, and the existence of our soul mate who is our only one true love.