What is Domestic Violence or Dating Violence/Abuse? Domestic violence is also known as intimate partner violence, spousal abuse, dating violence or battering.  It occurs when one person uses force to inflict injury -- emotional or physical -- on another person they have, or have had, an intimate or romantic relationship with.  The batterer uses this emotional or physical force to get or maintain power and control over the other person.  It occurs between current or former spouses, partners or within a dating relationship.  Victims can be any age, race or gender and be from any socioeconomic and educational background. Statistics More statistics... Violence against women is a problem of epidemic proportions in our country and our community. Nearly one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives (Commonwealth Fund, 1998). In California, domestic violence ranks as the most prevalent violent crime. In 2003, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office filed 3,600 new criminal complaints of domestic violence. In that same year, there were 21 domestic violence related deaths in the County. Domestic violence creates havoc and chaos in the lives it infects. The intra-psychic and interpersonal effect of the violence inflicted by a loved one far outlasts the physical wounds. Victims of abuse are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, eating problems and sexual dysfunction (World Health Organization, June 2001). Children who witness violence are at a high risk of anxiety and depression, exhibit more aggressive, antisocial behavior and experience delayed development (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2002). Next Door’s goal is to help families heal from these effects so they can live healthy, productive lives free of violence. Domestic violence does more than break the bodies and spirits of women and children; it deprives women of their ability to earn an income and has a severe cost to the economy. The California Institute of Mental Health recently reported that in two long-term case studies, nearly half of all welfare mothers said a mate had battered them within the past year. For these welfare families—currently 10,400 in Santa Clara County—the result was often post-traumatic stress disorder or injuries that interfered with the mothers’ ability to work. Another study, commissioned and conducted by the Bureau of National Affairs, found that lost work time, increased health costs, high turnover and lower productivity of victims of domestic violence costs U.S. companies between $3 billion and $5 billion per year. Next Door offers a comprehensive array of services to address domestic abuse and its many effects. For more information, visit: Family Violence Prevention Fund Office of Justice Programs Silicon Valley Domestic Law Project.

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