Everyone Deserves to Have Relationships Free of Domestic Violence. Violence and abuse at the hands of a loved one is frightening, degrading and confusing. Have you suffered this violence and abuse? If so, you are a victim of domestic violence. You are also the victim of a crime.
In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This Act, and the 1996 additions to the Act, recognize that domestic violence is a national crime and that federal laws can help an overburdened state and local criminal justice system. In 1994 and 1996, Congress also passed changes to the Gun Control Act that make it a federal crime in certain situations for domestic violence abusers to possess guns. Most domestic violence cases will continue to be handled by state and local authorities.
However, in some cases, federal laws and the benefits derived from the application of these laws may be the most appropriate course of action. Frequent exposure to domestic violence not only predisposes children to numerous social and physical problems, but also teaches them that violence is a normal way of life and therefore increases their risk of becoming the next generation of victims and abusers in society. Domestic violence is 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. Sexual abuse includes, but is certainly not limited to, spousal rape, attacks on sexual parts of the body, forcing sexual intercourse after physical violence has occurred, or treating a person in a sexually degrading manner.
This discussion on domestic violence aims to educate the public about the dynamics of abuse in dating relationships, as well as helping victims understand their experience and victims' families and friends recognize signs of abuse in their loved ones' relationships. In addition, police officers have the authority to arrest a person suspected of having committed an act of domestic violence without a court order and bring that person before a magistrate within 48 hours. Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. Domestic violence means the occurrence of one or more of the following criminal offenses against a person protected under the “Domestic Violence Prevention Act of 1991, P.
VAWA's first reauthorization, in 2000, created a much-needed legal assistance program for victims and included responses to dating violence and stalking. Domestic violence occurs in both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships and can happen to intimate partners who are married, living together, dating, or sharing a child. Domestic violence not only affects those who suffer abuse, but it also has a substantial effect on family members, friends, co-workers, other witnesses, and the wider community. In other words, not all fights, arguments, disagreements, screaming clashes, or the like rise to the level of domestic violence that triggers the issuance of a TRO or FRO.
Finally, DVA provides protection and relief to survivors of domestic violence by allowing them to seek a protective order when an act of domestic violence has been committed, committed, or is threatened. A person protected by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act is 18 years of age or older, or is an emancipated minor and who has been subjected to domestic violence by a spouse, former spouse, or any other person who is a current or former member of the household. Every county in New Jersey has at least one domestic violence program that provides a range of services to domestic violence survivors and their children by trained and compassionate domestic violence advocates. .
