What is intimate partner violence?
In general usage, the term “Intimate Partner Violence” (IPV) describes physical violence, sexual violence, and/or psychological abuse committed against an individual by their current or former partner(s) or spouse(s).
This type of violence can occur in any intimate or romantic partnership regardless of marriage/non-marriage status, presence/non-presence of sexual intimacy, cohabitation status, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
IPV can fall under the umbrella term "Domestic Violence," which is a broader categorization of violent behavior that includes abuse from other kinds of family (nuclear or extended) or household members.
IPV includes one, more, or all of the following:
Emotional, psychological, physical, sexual (including rape and reproductive coercion), financial, political, technological, and spiritual forms of control, manipulation, violence, and abuse.
IPV is not a one-time act of physical violence.
These kinds of relationships are cyclical in nature with the perpetrator/abuser demonstrating a repeated pattern of violent, abusive, or coercive behavior that aims to control, manipulate, and harm their partner in some way. This pattern also tends to follow a repeating cycle that moves through a honeymoon stage, building tension stage, and acute explosion stage.
Survivor or victim?
We believe IPV is a context within which abusive and violent behavior happens and a survivor is "surviving" in a constant state of trauma defense responses. This helps us to understand that (a) survivors are making choices, they are not without decision, but (b) those choices are limited because of the very nature of the IPV context. Reframing in this way works to change limiting conversations about IPV, including harmful questions such as "Why didn't she just leave?"
We believe there are many harmful stereotypes around who a victim, survivor, or abuser is, and because of that, we also believe there are no "prerequisites" to being a victim, survivor, or perpetrator of abuse.
In this way, IPV is blind to race, class, culture, religion, physical and cognitive ability, age, gender identity, sexual identity, immigration status, language, geographic, and community setting. We do, however, recognize that systemic oppression and unconscious biases mean many survivors receive inadequate emergency responses, medical care, legal aid, community care, and other interventions compared to those with privilege.