The Criminal Law of Misdemeanor Domestic Violence, 1970-1990

Domestic disturbance incidents constitute the largest category of calls received by police each year.'This is not surprising given the number of women who are abused by their intimate partners.Half of all married women will be beaten at least once by their husbands. 2Many of these women are beaten as frequently as once a month, once a week, or even daily. 3 The U.S. Surgeon General found that battering of women by husbands, ex-husbands or lovers "is the single largest cause of injury to women in the United States," accounting for one-fifth of all hospital emergency room cases. 4 The injuries women sustain in these attacks are at least as serious as those suffered in violent felony crimes. 5 Weapons are used in thirty percent of all domestic violence incidents. 6 Thirty-one percent of all women murdered in America are killed by their husbands, exhusbands, or lovers. 7 Woman abuse profoundly affects children living in the home.It imperils children psychologically even when they themselves are