What is Domestic Violence?

If you got into a fight with your spouse and the cops were called, you might get arrested for domestic violence. The police may take you away from the home in order to protect your spouse and family.

When most people think about domestic violence, they think about battered women getting beat by the men in their life. However, there are many different kinds of domestic violence.

Here are some of the common types of domestic violence.

Physical abuse

Most people think about physical abuse when they think of domestic violence. They think about hitting, slapping, and kicking. They may picture a poor woman with a black eye trying to hide and get away from a man that she is scared of. However, men can be physically abused also.

Physical abuse also consists of threats to do physical harm to someone. Forcing someone to do something that they don't want to do can also be considered physical abuse, especially if force is used.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse can also be considered domestic violence. With emotional abuse, a person can scare someone enough that they fear for their safety. They may threaten someone so that they are afraid that they will get physically abused. In fact, some specific threats made with intent to cause the recipient to be in fear for their lives or safety are in violation of the law. Penal Code section 422 prohibits these type of threats, also referred to as criminal threats.

Emotional abuse can also make someone stay with someone that is not good for them. They may threaten to hurt or kill them if they leave them. They may also threaten to hurt or kill themselves if they get left.

Restricting Freedom

In addition, one of the types of behaviors we often see in conjunction with physical violence is preventing someone from leaving the location. This is false imprisonment and is also a felony offense. This involves preventing your spouse, partner, or the person you are dating from moving from one area to another. Also, prohibited is taking someone's phone and preventing the from contacting law enforcement. This is dissuading a witness from making a report and is a violation of Penal Code section 136.1, also a felony. This section can also be violated if you try to talk someone out of filing charges or prosecuting the case.

If you were accused of domestic violence, you need to hire an experienced lawyer. He or she will help you through this difficult time. For more information on how we can help you with a domestic violence charge, contact us for a free consultation.