A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY

Family and Domestic Violence

The term Family and Domestic Violence has been used to be consistent with the definition in The Family and Domestic Violence Action Plan and Progress Report and the Western Australian Health Policy and Implementation Plan to Address Family and Domestic Violence:

"Family and Domestic Violence is generally understood to be a behaviour which causes one partner in a relationship to be afraid of the other. Through the use of the power that this fear gives them, the abusive partner controls the behavior of the other.

Family and Domestic Violence can take the form of physical, sexual and/or psychological abuse, forced social isolation or economic deprivation"(Ruhl, D. 1996).

There is significant community debate over the appropriate definition regarding partnered violence and in recognition of this the preferred term is Family and Domestic Violence which is abbreviated to FDV in the text. In the context of training, the terms family violence or domestic violence may be used interchangeably.

Victim vs Survivor

The term survivor has been used rather than victim as it best describes a person who has survived FDV and recognises their strength in living through and recovering from these events.

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Last Updated: Friday, 20 March 1998 10:28