ABSTRACT
This opening chapter reacquaints readers with the prevalence of domestic and intimate partner violence. Fully illustrated in its many forms and broken down by type, readers get a thorough overview of behaviors that comprise domestic violence and why it is so pervasive in not only the United States, but all over the world. In addition to gauging domestic violence in various European and African nations, the chapter provides insights into the costs involved and the culture of gender-based violence. Domestic and intimate partner violence includes a wide variety of behaviors, including infanticide, parricide, matricide, patricide, physical and sexual child abuse, emotional, psychological and economic abuse, incest, stalking, sexual assault, dating violence, marital violence, spousal and elder abuse, spiritual abuse and intimate partner homicide occasionally followed by suicide. For many researchers and practitioners alike, violence against women and children is both a consequence and a cause of power and gender inequality; a common theme discussed throughout this text.
