ABSTRACT
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is “physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The violence is not static but involves a spiral, with repeated but ever-intensifying cycles of violence, denial, apparently loving calm, and increasing tension that, if not broken, results in the death of either the victim or the perpetrator or both. The focus of this chapter is on women as victims of IPV because the physical injuries sustained by women are overwhelmingly more severe than those of men (Kyriacou et al., 1999; Petridou, Browne, Lichter, Dedoukou, Alexe, & Dessypris, 2002). Intimate partner violence is the leading cause of injuries to women between the ages of 15 and 44 years (Bent-Goodley, 2007) and occurs across racial and ethnic groups (Banks & Ackerman, 2002; Bent-Goodley, 2007).
