Intimate Partner Violence

 Intimate Partner Violence 

By: Jimena Molina 

What is Intimate Partner Violence? 

Intimate Partner Violence(IPV): it is abusive behavior and coercive behavior which can result in injuries, it is not always physical violence. There is a misconception that Intimate Partner Violence is just physical abuse like hitting, shoving, slapping, or punching your partner. But there is more to it and this can have long-term effects on the person's partner. IPV can be “psychological abuse, sexual assault, stalking, deprivation, intimidation, and reproductive coercion” (Committee and Health Care for Underserved Women). Intimate Partner Violence involves one of the partners controlling the other and they can be using these types of abuse to control them. It can happen to anyone, males or females, race and ethnicity doesn’t matter. Anyone can be a victim of IPV. 

Types of Abuse

Physical abuse, this abuse involves hitting, beating, slapping, biting, kicking, and threatening with weapons. The perpetrator does this in order to control the victim and in their mindset show them they are the dominant partner. 

Psychological abuse: The perpetrator verbally abuses their partner, degrades them, insults them, threatens them, and isolates them. 

Sexual Abuse: This involves unwanted kissing, touching, or fondling; sexual coercion, and rape. Sexual coercion is a manipulation tactic to get you to agree into having sex. For instance, the perpetrator starts to tell their partner that they don’t love them and they get mad at them making the partner feel bad and give in. 

Reproductive coercion is another type of abuse. This is when the perpetrator sabotages the partner's reproductive health. If you are a woman, the perpetrator can sabotage their birth control pills or maybe poke holes in the condom in order to get her pregnant without her knowing. A woman could do the same or lie about them being on birth control. It is more likely for this type of abuse to happen to a woman. The perpetrator does this to hurt their partner, they can purposely try to give them an STI or STD and then blame the partner for cheating. 

Consequences 

The consequences that come with IPV for victims are: 

Internalizing behaviors

Depression, Suicidal Ideation, Anxiety, Withdrawal, Somatic complaints, poor sleep, school avoidance, eating disorders. 

Externalizing behaviors 

Attention problems, academic underachievement, rule-breaking behaviors, bullying behaviors, substance abuse, and difficulty forming relationships. (Rome, E and Miller, E.) 

Approximately one-quarter of a million hospital visits occur as a result of IPV. One out of ten female high school students in the U.S. have experienced physical violence. Adolescents and young adults have difficulty identifying abusive behaviors. Young women who are victims of reproductive coercion are less likely to identify abusive behaviors such as being pressured into having sex or being threatened.

Personal 

This social issue affects me directly because I know people who have suffered from IPV. I am not sure if I have ever suffered from it, although reading these things I can relate to a few and I didn’t know that it was abuse. I thought it was a normal thing and I think that is what happens to a few people. I think that there is a misconception and people only believe that if your partner hits you and beats you that it is IPV. But just like I mentioned earlier there is way more to it. I have noticed that sexual coercion can be used in relationships and the victim thinks it is okay since the perpetrator didn’t force them physically. But it is a type of abuse, if the person truly loved you they would respect you and not try to manipulate you and pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.  I also wanted to talk about how men can also experience IPV. They chose to silence it because they are embarrassed to say they are being abused by a woman. Men also are abused and society shouldn’t disclude their feelings.

Real-life stories 

Samantha Perez shares a story

.

“I was so afraid, and I felt trapped, he was so nice and sweet at first but as time passed by he seemed to be more aggressive. He started by controlling what I would wear and would call me names when he thought I would dress “provocatively” He will accuse me of cheating and would sometimes threaten me into using physical violence if I didn’t want to give him my phone. He isolated me from my friends because he was jealous of them. He would abuse me psychologically and verbally. He would throw things to make me feel scared.”

CALL THE NATIONAL VIOLENCE HOTLINES IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS EXPERIENCING IPV

1 (800- 799- 7233)

I would like to share a documentary called "Defending Our Lives" this documentary is about women who suffered from IPV and ended up killing the perpetrator. They all share their stories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHV0B9OJvkk

Sources 

Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women. “Intimate Partner Violence.” ACOG, https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2012/02/intimate-partner-violence#. 

Rome, Ellen S, and Elizabeth Miller. “Intimate Partner Violence in the Adolescent.” Publications.aap.org, 2020, https://publications.aap.org/pediatricsinreview/article/41/2/73/35370/Intimate-Partner-Violence-in-the-Adolescent.