Gender-based violence has been defined by the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defined Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) as “physical or sexual violence, psychological harm, or stalking and control of reproductive or sexual health by a current or former partner or spouse.” The term IPV may be used interchangeably with domestic violence. However, some differences exist with the terms. Whereas domestic violence may include child abuse, elderly abuse, between siblings, or even roommates, incidents of IPV occurs only between romantic partners who may or may not be living together in the same household.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes sexual violence is “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body part or object.”
CDC Video: Intimate partner violence