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OUTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Author(s) -
Aulivola Michelle
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.174-1617.2004.tb00640.x
Subject(s) - domestic violence , statute , redress , legislature , criminology , sodomy , intimate partner , psychology , state (computer science) , political science , law , social psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , homosexuality , medical emergency , algorithm , computer science
Studies show that domestic violence among same‐sex couples occurs at approximately the same statistical frequency and has many of the same characteristics as domestic violence among heterosexual couples. In addition to the elements involved in domestic violence among heterosexual couples, gays and lesbians face a series of highly specific forms of abuse perpetrated exclusively in same‐sex relationships. Yet a severe disparity exists in the services that are available to victims based on which of the two types of relationships they are involved in. In the vast majority of states, family is narrowly defined within domestic violence statutes, precluding gays and lesbians from seeking civil redress for crimes perpetrated against them by their partners. For this reason, it is imperative that state legislatures react to this discrepancy by redrafting domestic violence statutes and defining family more inclusively to provide appropriate protections to victims of same‐sex domestic violence.