Intimate Partner Violence in the United States

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious concern in the United States. In the 1970s, the battered women’s movement began, which sought to change aspects of the US culture that contributed to violence against women. Although this movement did help many victims of IPV, it was not until 1994 that the Violence Against Women Act was passed. Despite progress related to helping victims of IPV, there is still considerable work to be done in the United States to prevent and intervene in cases of IPV. As of December 2020, the Violence Against Women Act has expired and has not been reauthorized. Additional attention to batterer intervention strategies (including funding for research on effectiveness), reducing barriers for victims to receive formal services and resources, ensuring that abusers do not have access to guns, and the development of culturally specific interventions designed to help diverse populations in the United States are needed.