Domestic violence is a situation of domination inside a relationship, where one partner abuse the other one. It's not a "fight" where both partners get angry and violent, it's a situation of clear inegality between them.
Domestic violence may involve :
- psychological violence (jalousy, control the partner's movements, restraining them from having friends or from seeing people without being there, isolation (from family too), having influence and a grip on the partner...)
- verbal violence (insult, humiliation, depreciation, constant critics etc...)
- physical violence (throwing object, kicking, slapping, hitting...)
- sexual violence (rape etc)
- economic/financial violence (control of the financial situation of the partner, like their bank account, credit card, restraining them from having / getting a job, control of their money, material privation...)
- administrative violence (confiscation of their papers like ID, passport, driving licence, credit card etc)
Most of the time, it works in circle : violence raise, then explode, then it's the "honey moon" ; the abusive partner gets all nice and caring to confuse the abused one, then the violence raise again, etc...