Published by cbtpro at September 30, 2013 Intimate partner violence, which is also referred to as family or domestic violence is a common but often silent problem, affecting almost 25% of Australian women and a smaller percentage of men. Intimate partner violence may involve a wide range of behaviours, including: Physical abuse — including direct assaults on the body (e.g. hitting, kicking, choking), use of weapons, driving dangerously, destruction of property, assault of children, locking the victim out of the house, and sleep deprivation; Sexual abuse — any form of forced sex or sexual degradation, such as sexual activity without consent, causing pain during sex, assaulting genitals, coercive sex without protection against pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease, making the victim perform sexual acts unwillingly, criticising, or using sexually degrading insults; Verbal abuse — […]