Domestic violence, defined in California, is physical, emotional or financial abuse that is directed at a family member (one’s child, grandchild, parent or grandparent) or at an intimate partner. Same sex intimate partners are or were civilly united, are or were living together, are or were dating and have children together. When this type of abuse is targeted at one of the above listed people, the result is that the perpetrator will face specific D.V. consequences in addition to the consequences that he or she faces for whatever crime he or she committed, because of the fact that the crime will be prosecuted as one of domestic abuse.

Domestic violence and, more specifically intimate partner abuse, is a real problem in this country and knows no boundaries. It affects both heterosexual and homosexual partners, families and children, friends and communities and severely impacts its victims. The goal of prevention is to stop DV and, if effective, will raise awareness about this growing problem, will stop abusive behavior and will empower victims of domestic violence to leave their abusive relationships. Although our society is becoming more aware of how this problem affects the GLBT community and has made significant improvements in the ways that it responds to this issue, much more needs to be done to ultimately prevent this vicious cycle of abuse.

Education is the key to the prevention of intimate partner violence. Although heterosexual victims and non-heterosexual victims of domestic violence experience many of the same emotional and psychological symptoms of abuse, their overall experiences are very different, which is why it is imperative that resources are provided to the LGBT community where service providers are trained with respect to the unique issues that these individuals face so that they can adequately and sensitively recognize and address abusive gay and lesbian relationships. In order to be effective, education must be widely publicized so that everyone is aware that domestic violence, in any form, is a crime and that offenders will receive severe punishment.

Prevention, in order to be successful, must address three issues. The first focuses on stopping the problem before it starts, which is primarily achieved by educating young people about the problem. The second issue addresses services for “at-risk” individuals and provides resources to help these people identify known or suspected risk factors. This issue targets people, for example, who were either abused as children and therefore may be prone to domestic violence as adults, people with substance abuse issues, or anyone who may have exhibited violent behavior. The third issue is to control existing behavior. This, for example, would be the punishment that a court imposes on a person convicted of a DV related crime to prevent any future abusive behavior.

Preventing domestic violence is the key to restoring and maintaining equality within a relationship that is affected by an imbalance of power. If successful, a couple or family will live in an environment that values respect, support, trust, honesty and accountability, responsible parenting, and economic equality and that rejects violent, threatening and intimidating behavior.

If an individual thinks that he or she may be the victim of domestic abuse or thinks that he or she may need help for his or her own abusive behavior, there are resources that are available to meet anyone’s individual or unique needs. Resources can be easily accessed online, exist for both the victims of abuse and for the partners or family members who abuse those victims. The bottom line is that help is available for those who wish to seek it. The caring, GLBT supportive attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm can educate a DV victim about his or her rights and about where to get help and will also fight for an individual accused of domestic violence. They have law offices in Los Angeles and throughout California, enabling them to provide their unparalleled legal advice and services to anyone in need of a gay-friendly California domestic violence lawyer. Contact them today for a confidential, free consultation.