Domestic Violence

Domestic violence in Kansas is defined as any harmful physical contact or threat thereof, or destruction of non-communal property, between certain individuals used as a method of coercion, control, revenge, or punishment.

Domestic violence cases may involve:

• spouses, whether residing together or not;
• former spouses, whether residing together or not;
• persons who are involved in an ongoing, intimate relationship with each other, regardless whether they currently live together or have done so in the past;
• persons who have in the past had an ongoing, intimate relationship with each other regardless whether they lived together or not;
• persons, eighteen years of age or older, who are blood or step-related to one another (e.g. father/daughter, step-son/step-father, brother/sister, etc.)

Battering is about power and control. Battering is not the exclusive behavior of men, and of course not all men batter their partners. However, the majority of abusive relationships involve men over women, and the information provided here will favor that bias. All efforts will be made, however, to be as non-gender specific as possible.

Domestic violence crosses all cultures, races, and socioeconomic levels. Abusers and their victims can be gay, straight, young, or old. Abuse can be verbal, physical, emotional, financial, and sexual.