Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

By: Julia Alanen*

Each year, approximately 1.4 million persons are physically assaulted by an intimate partner in the United States, according to the National Institute for Justice. Domestic violence can include physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or even financial abuse. It can occur in public or in private life. Domestic violence cuts across gender, race, ethnicity, age and socio-economic lines. The victim can be male or female, and a batterer can be the victim’s spouse, child, parent or other family member. Domestic violence can occur within the context of marriage, live-in family members, dating or in a non-intimate co-parenting relationship.