Domestic Abuse (DA) - Definitions

“Domestic Abuse” means assaultive or coercive behavior which includes threats or attempts at abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, economic control, stalking, isolation, and threats or other types of coercive behaviors occurring within a domestic relationship.

Forms of domestic abuse may include, but are not limited to:

Domestic Relationships

“Domestic Relationships” are relationships between or among persons who:

• Are current or former spouses
• Live together or have lived together (including family and non-family members)
• Are dating or have dated
• Are engaged in or who have engaged in a sexual relationship
• Are related by blood or adoption
• Are related or were formerly related by marriage
• Are engaged or were formerly engaged to be married
• Have children in common
• Have minor children of persons mentioned above, or
• Are acting in concert with, or on behalf of, a perpetrator in a relationship identified above.

Note: Relationships include, but are not limited to the ones listed above.

Survivor of DA

Survivor is used to identify survivors of DA and is inclusive of current and past victims of abuse.  Survivors, as well as their abusers, can be of any gender identity or sexual orientation.  

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is when an individual knowingly causes another person to engage in a sexual act and may include non-physical contact of a sexual nature such as, but not limited to:

• Voyeurism
• Intentional exposure of an individual to exhibitionism
• Unwanted exposure to pornography
• Verbal or behavioral sexual harassment
• Threats of sexual violence
• Taking nude photographs of a sexual nature of another person without their consent or knowledge, or of a person who is unable to consent or refuse.  

Sexual Assault/Sexual Battery

Sexual assault, which is also known as sexual battery, is when someone’s intimate parts are touched or attempted to be touched, or when someone is forced to touch another person’s intimate parts, without consent and/or against that person’s will.  
Situations that lack consent or are against someone’s will, can include but are not limited to, the perpetrator ignoring verbal and/or nonverbal indicators of resistance from the victim, the victim is unable to consent or refuse, and situations resulting from threats, fraud or coercion.  
The inability to consent or refuse includes: 

•  When the perpetrator knows or reasonably should know that the other person is asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unaware that the sexual act is occurring.
• When the victim is incapable of consenting to the sexual act due to impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the perpetrator.  
• The victim has a mental disorder, developmental or physical disability, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the perpetrator.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment refers to both unwelcome sexual advances, or other visual, verbal, emotional actions, or physical conduct of a sexual nature and actions that create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment based on a person’s sex.  
The offensive conduct can occur in any setting, and does not need to be motivated by sexual desire but may be based upon a person’s actual or perceived sex or gender-identity, actual or perceived sexual orientation, and/or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions and may be for the purpose of controlling or intimidating the victim. This definition includes many forms of offensive behavior and includes gender-based harassment of a person of the same sex as the harasser, and actions that subject people to a hostile environment.