Domestic violence is an issue common to both criminal law and family law that tends to be statutorily defined.
For example:
- The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) states in Section 12291(a)(8) “[t]he term ‘domestic violence’ includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction receiving grant monies, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction.”
- California Penal Code Section 13700 defines domestic violence as “abuse committed against an adult or a minor who is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or person with whom the suspect has had a child or is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship. For purposes of this subdivision, ‘cohabitant’ means two unrelated adult persons living together for a substantial period of time, resulting in some permanency of relationship. Factors that may determine whether persons are cohabiting include, but are not limited to, (1) sexual relations between the parties while sharing the same living quarters, (2) sharing of income or expenses, (3) joint use or ownership of property, (4) whether the parties hold themselves out as spouses, (5) the continuity of the relationship, and (6) the length of the relationship.”
See e.g., People v. Brown, 192 Cal.App.4th 1222, 121 Cal. Rptr. 3d 828 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011); People v. Mani, 74 Cal.App.5th 343, 289 Cal. Rptr. 3d 452 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022)
[Last updated in September of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]