Domestic violence doesn’t occur in a vacuum; physical contact is rarely a one-way street where the assailant attacks while the victim does nothing. Our instinct is to respond physically to defend ourselves against an attacker, sometimes to the point of striking back accordingly. However, in California, when police respond to…
While domestic violence continues to be a significant public health problem across the nation, the fact remains that the United States enjoys some of the strongest legal protections against domestic violence found anywhere on earth. With more than one billion women living in countries with no legal protections against DV,…
When we talk about cases of domestic violence under California law, in most situations we’re referring to violence or abuse between “intimate partners,”—that is, spouses, ex-spouses, domestic partners, and current and former dating relationships. But of course, these aren’t the only family relationships in which domestic violence can occur. Siblings…
Depending on where we get our information, research has shown that anywhere between 35 percent and 70 percent of women worldwide have been victimized by domestic or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Most laws passed against domestic violence are intended to prevent and punish these acts, but…
Despite the abundant education and preventative resources available today, domestic violence continues to be a significant issue worldwide. At least 60 percent of all violence-related arrests involve domestic violence against a significant other. Here in the U.S., approximately 20 people become victims of DV every single minute, accounting for 25…
You hit your significant other. Now you’re facing possible jail time and a restraining order. But while those are serious consequences, the worst, for you, is that you’ve lost the love and respect of someone you really cared about. Is there any way to get that back? To restore normalcy…
Breaking the cycle of domestic violence has been difficult. Studies have shown that even the most widely-used program for domestic abuse intervention, the Duluth Model, has not been successful in reducing the rate of recidivism for violent offenders. But there is one approach that might be more successful. Although they…
Both California and U.S. laws offer victims of domestic violence some basic legal protections, including the ability to obtain restraining orders. These laws are not perfect, nor are they always effective, but in general they work and they have the approval of society behind them. Police will arrest domestic violence…