National Domestic Violence Registry

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence or domestic abuse is a term used to describe abusive behavior or a series of abusive behaviors among intimate relationships. Intimate relationships are those between dating partners, spouses, cohabitants, family and friends. Domestic violence is also known as domestic abuse, intimate partner violence and spousal abuse. Dating violence is also considered a form of domestic violence.

Although women are the most commonly reported victims, men and children are affected and can also be victims of any domestic abuse. The person who commits domestic violence is called an abuser or batterer. The number one goal of an abuser is to have control over their victim.

Warning Signs

Abusers use many forms of violence in order to control their victims. Physical aggression such as beating, punching, kicking, scratching and biting are the most commonly recognized forms of domestic violence. Sexual abuse or sexual assault is another form. There are also more subtle types of abusive behavior such as psychological, emotional, mental, verbal, isolation and financial that abusers can use, and often do, before physical abuse ever occurs. So in order to better recognize domestic violence, we have to know the warning signs.

Some of the warning signs that you may be in a relationship with abuse:

you feel afraid of your partner
you feel your partner may be trying to drive you crazy
your partner puts you down or humiliates you
your partner threatens you with words or body language
your partner's behavior is unpridictable
your partner may threaten to hurt themself
your partner calls you names

your partner lies to you
your partner ignores you or your opinions
your partner treats you like an object and not like a person
your partner acts jealous or possessive
your partner tries to isolate you from family and friends
your partner tries to control your finances
your partner tries to deprive you of an education

Our Partners

Please bookmark this page. Our new URL is www.domesticviolencedatabase.org.

The intent of this website is to contribute to the prevention of domestic violence of women, men and children across the United States. The records contained within this database are derived from actual court documents. All records are a matter of public record.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: There are many persons who share like or similar names. In order to avoid misinterpretation of any public record, a concerned party should request a copy of the case file from the courts which will provide more identifying information. All criminal conviction records including orders of protection are public records which are compiled by the courts in each county, state by state. Contact the county's court house directly to verify all information. The information on the Registry refers only to violent offenses and may not reflect the entire criminal history of a particular individual. A complete public record of criminal history can be obtained from any State Police Bureau of Identification. Additionally, a person not appearing in this database does not preclude them from being a domestic violence offender.

Although we try to make our information accurate and useful, you should consult a lawyer to interpret and apply this information to your particular situation. Information is not the same as legal advice – the application of information to an individual’s specific circumstances. This site does not provide legal services nor legal advice. We are not lawyers and we do not take any responsibility for rashes, financial ruin, or anything else that follows from applying this information. Information compiled on this Registry may not be used to harass or threaten offenders or their families. Harassment, stalking or threats may violate criminal laws. If your conviction has been expunged or overturned on appeal, please use the Contact Form to inform us of this change. If you have any further questions, please contact the National Domestic Violence Registry directly.