Domestic/family violence

 A pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone. (Adapted from the U.S. Department of Justice.)

Glossary of terms

• Abuse -  a rude expression intended to offend or hurt; cruel or inhumane treatment; improper or excessive use; verb use wrongly or improperly or excessively; use foul or abusive language towards; change the inherent purpose or function of something; treat badly

• Argentina -  type genus of the Argentinidae: argentines; a republic in southern South America; second largest country in South America

• Armenia -  a landlocked republic in southwestern Asia; formerly an Asian soviet; modern Armenia is but a fragment of ancient Armenia which was one of the world's oldest civilizations; throughout 2500 years the Armenian people have been invaded and oppressed by their neighbors

• Australia -  a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony; the smallest continent; between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean

• Black-and-Blue -  discolored by coagulation of blood beneath the skin

• Blinded -  deprived of sight

• Bolivia -  a form of canasta in which sequences can be melded; a landlocked republic in central South America; Simon Bolivar founded Bolivia in 1825 after winning independence from Spain

• Brazil -  the largest Latin American country and the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world; located in the central and northeastern part of South America; world's leading coffee exporter; three-sided tropical American nut with white oily meat and hard brown shell

• Bullying -  noisily domineering; tending to browbeat others;  the act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something

• Child abuse -  the physical or emotional or sexual mistreatment of children

• Chile -  a republic in southern South America on the western slopes of the Andes on the south Pacific coast; very hot and finely tapering pepper of special pungency

• China -  high quality porcelain originally made only in China; a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world; dishware made of high quality porcelain; a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the communists led by Mao Zedong

• Christianity -  a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior; the collective body of Christians throughout the world and history (found predominantly in Europe and the Americas and Australia)

• Collapse -  a mishap caused by something suddenly falling down or caving in; an abrupt failure of function or health; the act of throwing yourself down; a sudden large decline of business or the prices of stocks (especially one that causes additional failures); verb lose significance, effectiveness, or value; break down, literally or metaphorically; cause to burst; fold or close up; collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack; suffer a nervous breakdown; fall apart

• Colombia -  a republic in northwestern South America with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of Simon Bolivar; Spanish is the official language

• Country -  the territory occupied by a nation; an area outside of cities and towns; the people who live in a nation or country; a politically organized body of people under a single government; a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)

• Dehumanization -  the act of degrading people with respect to their best qualities

• Denial -  the act of asserting that something alleged is not true; the act of refusing to comply (as with a request); (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts; renunciation of your own interests in favor of the interests of others; a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him

• Destabilisation -  the action of destabilizing; making something less stable (especially of a government or country or economy)

• Domestic violence -  violence or physical abuse directed toward your spouse or domestic partner; usually violence by men against women

• Ecuador -  a republic in northwestern South America; became independent from Spain in 1822; the landscape is dominated by the Andes

• Embarrassment -  some event that causes someone to be embarrassed; the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public; the state of being embarrassed (usually by some financial inadequacy); extreme excess

• Enough -  enough to meet a purpose; adv. as much as necessary;  an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose

• Epidemiology -  the branch of medical science dealing with the transmission and control of disease

• Exaggeration -  the act of making something more noticeable than usual; making to seem more important than it really is; extravagant exaggeration

• General -  prevailing among and common to the general public; not specialized or limited to one class of things; applying to all or most members of a category or group; of national scope; affecting the entire body; somewhat indefinite; of worldwide scope or applicability;  a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular); a general officer of the highest rank; the head of a religious order or congregation; verb command as a general

• Ghana -  a republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea

• Guyana -  a republic in northeastern South America; achieved independence from England in 1966

• Harassment -  the act of tormenting by continued persistent attacks and criticism; a feeling of intense annoyance caused by being tormented

• Honor killing -  an ancient Muslim tradition still sometimes observed; a male member of the family kills a female relative for tarnishing the family image

• Humiliation -  depriving one of self-esteem; an instance in which you are caused to lose your prestige or self-respect; state of disgrace or loss of self-respect; strong feelings of embarrassment

• Incivility -  deliberate discourtesy

• India -  a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947

• Intimidation -  the feeling of being intimidated; being made to feel afraid or timid; the feeling of discouragement in the face of someone's superior fame or wealth or status etc.; the act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something; a communication that makes you afraid to try something

• Iran -  a theocratic Islamic republic in the Middle East in western Asia; Iran was the core of the ancient empire that was known as Persia until 1935; rich in oil

• Islam -  the monotheistic religious system of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran; the civilization of Muslims collectively which is governed by the Muslim religion

• Isolation -  the act of isolating something; setting something apart from others; a country's withdrawal from international politics; a feeling of being disliked and alone; (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which memory of an unacceptable act or impulse is separated from the emotion originally associated with it; a state of separation between persons or groups

• Kenya -  a republic in eastern Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1963; major archeological discoveries have been made in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya

• Legal -  allowed by official rules; established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules; having legal efficacy or force; of or relating to jurisprudence; relating to or characteristic of the profession of law

• Lesbian -  of female homosexuality;  a resident of Lesbos; a female homosexual

• Lithuania -  a republic in northeastern Europe on the Baltic Sea

• Lying -  given to lying;  the deliberate act of deviating from the truth

• Manipulation -  exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's own advantage; the action of touching with the hands (or the skillful use of the hands) or by the use of mechanical means

• military -  associated with or performed by armed services as contrasted with civilians; characteristic of or associated with soldiers or the military; of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare;  the military forces of a nation

• Minimisation -  the act of reducing something to the least possible amount or degree or position

• Misogyny -  hatred of women

• Nagging -  continually complaining or faultfinding

• Narcissism -  an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself

• neglect -  the state of something that has been unused and neglected; willful lack of care and attention; failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances; the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern; lack of attention and due care; verb leave undone or leave out; fail to attend to; give little or no attention to; fail to do something; leave something undone

• Nigeria -  a republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea; gained independence from Britain in 1960; most populous African country

• Norway -  a constitutional monarchy in northern Europe on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula; achieved independence from Sweden in 1905

• Outline -  a schematic or preliminary plan; a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory; the line that appears to bound an object; verb describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of; trace the shape of; draw up an outline or sketch for something

• Pakistan -  a Muslim republic that occupies the heartland of ancient south Asian civilization in the Indus River valley; formerly part of India; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947

• Panama -  a republic on the Isthmus of Panama; achieved independence from Colombia in 1903; a stiff hat made of straw with a flat crown

• Paraguay -  a landlocked republic in south central South America; achieved independence from Spain in 1811

• Persecution -  the act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion)

• Peru -  a republic in western South America; achieved independence from Spain in 1821; was the heart of the Inca empire from the 12th to 16th centuries

• Physical -  having substance or material existence; perceptible to the senses; concerned with material things; characterized by energetic bodily activity; according with material things or natural laws (other than those peculiar to living matter); involving the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit; relating to the sciences dealing with matter and energy; especially physics; impelled by physical force especially against resistance

• Prevention -  the act of preventing

• Provoked -  incited, especially deliberately, to anger

• Psychological -  mental or emotional as opposed to physical in nature; of or relating to or determined by psychology

• Psychopathy -  any disease of the mind; the psychological state of someone who has emotional or behavioral problems serious enough to require psychiatric intervention

• Rationalization -  the organization of a business according to scientific principles of management in order to increase efficiency; (mathematics) the simplification of an expression or equation by eliminating radicals without changing the value of the expression or the roots of the equation; the cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reason; (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening; systematic organization; the act of organizing something according to a system or a rationale

• Refuge -  a shelter from danger or hardship; act of turning to for assistance; something or someone turned to for assistance or security; a safe place

• Religion -  a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; an institution to express belief in a divine power

• Respect -  (usually preceded by `in') a detail or point; an attitude of admiration or esteem; behavior intended to please your parents; a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard; courteous regard for people's feelings; a feeling of friendship and esteem; the condition of being honored (esteemed or respected or well regarded); verb regard highly; think much of; show respect towards

• Romania -  a Balkan republic in southeastern Europe

• Russia -  a former empire in eastern Europe and northern Asia created in the 14th century with Moscow as the capital; powerful in the 17th and 18th centuries under Peter the Great and Catherine the Great when Saint Petersburg was the capital; overthrown by revolution in 1917; a federation in northeastern Europe and northern Asia; formerly Soviet Russia; since 1991 an independent state; a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia; established in 1922; included Russia and 14 other soviet socialist republics (Ukraine and Byelorussia and others); officially dissolved 31 December 1991; formerly the largest Soviet Socialist Republic in the USSR occupying eastern Europe and northern Asia

• Samoa -  a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific midway between Hawaii and Australia; its climate and scenery and Polynesian culture make it a popular tourist stop; a constitutional monarchy on the western part of the islands of Samoa in the South Pacific

• Saudi Arabia -  an absolute monarchy occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia; vast oil reserves dominate the economy

• Sexual -  having or involving sex; of or relating to or characterized by sexuality; involved in a sexual relationship

• Sexual abuse -  a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat

• Silent treatment -  an aloof refusal to speak to someone you know

• South Africa -  a republic at the southernmost part of Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1910; first European settlers were Dutch (known as Boers)

• South Korea -  a republic in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula; established in 1948

• Stalking -  the act of following prey stealthily; a hunt for game carried on by following it stealthily or waiting in ambush

• Submission -  the act of submitting; usually surrendering power to another; (law) a contention presented by a lawyer to a judge or jury as part of the case he is arguing; an agreement between parties in a dispute to abide by the decision of an arbiter; a legal document summarizing an agreement between parties in a dispute to abide by the decision of an arbiter; something (manuscripts or architectural plans and models or estimates or works of art of all genres etc.) submitted for the judgment of others (as in a competition); the condition of having submitted to control by someone or something else; the feeling of patient submissive humbleness

• Tajikistan -  a landlocked mountainous republic in southeast central Asia north of Afghanistan; formerly an Asian soviet

• Trauma -  an emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects; any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.

• Turkey -  large gallinaceous bird with fan-shaped tail; widely domesticated for food; an event that fails badly or is totally ineffectual; flesh of large domesticated fowl usually roasted; a Eurasian republic in Asia Minor and the Balkans; achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1923; a person who does something thoughtless or annoying

• Uganda -  a landlocked republic in eastern Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1962

• United Kingdom -  a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland

• United States -  North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776; the executive and legislative and judicial branches of the federal government of the United States

• Victimisation -  an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly)

• Violence -  an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists); a turbulent state resulting in injuries and destruction etc.; the property of being wild or turbulent

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