ABSTRACT
Domestic violence characteristically includes acts of physical and mental cruelty progressing from a slap or shove, to a punch or kick, and to the more extreme manifestations of violence, in suffocation, strangulation, attempted murder and murder. The behaviour that is commonly called domestic violence can take on a variety of different aspects. It can be physical assault, sexual abuse, threats of either, or psychological abuse. This chapter looks at some of the manifestations of violence within what should be a loving relationship to fully understand the horror to which victims are subjected and the need for adequate protection to be provided by both the civil and the criminal justice systems. The cycle of violence theory suggests that violence is a learned response in childhood which continues into adult behaviour, thus leading to generations of violent adults within a particular family or community.
