What Is Domestic Violence & What Does It Look Like?

Aloha...
The purpose of this blog is to bring attention to the prevalence of domestic violence in Hawaii. While most of us know what domestic violence is, there are versions of the form of power and control by an intimate partner towards the other.
One of the favorite descriptions of what domestic violence is, can be summed up like this:
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as the threat of and/or actual physical sexual, psychological, or verbal abuse and other forms or coercion by a current or former spouse or non-marital partner (Guruge, 2016, p.1).

One of the least talked about crimes here in Hawaii is domestic violence, and yet police records and court documents reveal that domestic violence has been a serious, often fatal, occurrence here in our state that is usually symbolic of beauty and aloha.
Anyone can become a victim of domestic violence, and it can happen during any phase in a relationship – it doesn’t matter if it’s during a first date, or if a couple has been married for 50+ years, domestic violence doesn’t discriminate in that regard.
Domestic violence is recognized by a variety of harmful behavioral patterns involving one partner, usually a male, exerting power and control over his partner. Domestic violence, also known as ‘intimate partner violence', can take the form of physical assault, psychological abuse, social abuse, financial abuse, or sexual assault (Kaur, 2008, p.1).

Perpetrators of domestic violence have various methods to scare their victims into submission, that may include stalking, threats of intimidation, psychological/emotional abuse, financial deprivation, sexual violence, and physical injury. While there is no typical profile of an abuser, they all seem to use similar bullying tactics to get their point across. Often times, it’s with their fists, their most available weapon of destruction, but other times they attack psychologically, which can be just as painful, using lowly words of degradation and humiliation to hurt their victims and break them emotionally.

The legal definition of domestic abuse in Hawaii may fall under any one of these categories;

• Assaults, physical injury or bodily harm
• Threats of assault, physical harm, or bodily injury
• Extreme Psychological abuse – induced to cause intentional emotional distress
• Intentional and malicious property damage to cause emotional distress
• Sexual offenses by an adult towards a child

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