Domestic Violence - Not Always "Violent"
By Staff Attorney
The Gasper Law Group, PLLC
What do the words Domestic Violence mean to you?
I’ve found that most people think of Domestic Violence as involving very bad people that physically brutalize defenseless victims. Personally, I think of the movies Slingblade and Enough. Those movies featured dark antagonists that shamelessly controlled and severely beat their victims. As one might expect, however, Hollywood’s portrayal of Domestic Violence misses the reality mark.
Domestic Violence is defined in Colorado Revised Statute 18-6-800.3 as follows:
(1) "Domestic violence" means an act or threatened act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship. "Domestic violence" also includes any other crime against a person, or against property, including an animal, or any municipal ordinance violation against a person, or against property, including an animal, when used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship.
(2) "Intimate relationship" means a relationship between spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, or persons who are both the parents of the same child regardless of whether the persons have been married or have lived together at any time.
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