Ending the Cycle of Abuse: What Behavioral Health Professionals Need to Know About Domestic Violence‪.‬

Domestic violence is a major public health problem with physical and psychological sequelae for women, as well as a serious violation of human rights. One in every three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. (1) The home is considered a place where people should be safe, but it may be one of society's most violent social institutions. Intimate partner violence or abuse is a pattern of coercive control that may result in physical and/or sexual assault and may include emotional abuse and economic control. One person uses abuse to exert power and control over another in a domestic relationship. Although women can be abusive, and abuse does exist in same-sex relationships, the vast majority of abuse is perpetrated by men against their female partners. (2) Behavioral health therapists and counselors can make a difference in this epidemic and save lives by identifying and treating people in abusive relationships. By asking simple questions and providing information, death may be prevented and injuries and chronic stress may be lessened.