“When things were good, they were so good. Like I said, I was always safe with him. He might try to hit me and he might try to kill me, but no one else would do that. No one else would badmouth me, hurt me, or speak badly of me. This simply wasn't going to happen. In this sense I was safe with him. He would protect me from everyone else. Candy, white female, 20s, North Carolina” (Hattery, 2009). This quote is from a woman who was abused by her husband, known as intimate partner violence. It is also known as spousal abuse or domestic violence. Intimate partner abuse/violence occurs when one person in a relationship, whether married, sexually intimate, or cohabiting, is abused or treated violently. The importance of IPV is that it often happens in relationships, whether marital, sexually intimate, or cohabiting. IPV abuse is very common in the United States, and many couples often experience at least some form of abuse. In today's society, many women are treated violently by their spouses, while they suffer in silence. Intimate partner violence can affect anyone, regardless of race, age, religion or income. IPV is a pattern of abusive or threatening behaviors used by a person towards a lover or family member, to ultimately gain power and control over the family. The abuser is also known to maintain power and control over the victim throughout the relationship. It occurs most often in married or cohabiting couples, although it refers to violence against another, it mainly occurs towards women who are abused by their partner. It has been described as a pattern of behavior in which one partner inflicts violence on the other, such as physical… half of paper… A study conducted showed that there are four important factors in the social psychological level, physiological factors, trauma resulting from abuse suffered as a child, childhood learning, and lack of communication and impulse control skills. These problems do not necessarily cause marital violence but contribute to it. No male or female should ever have to endure an abusive relationship, because when people are looking for a relationship, most people are not trying to find a person who will be abusive towards them. Unless, of course, the person seeking the relationship is used to abusing himself, he will continue to find an abuser. For those who believe abuse is “normal” it is simply heartbreaking. Everyone should have the opportunity to live their life without having to suffer abuse. Unfortunately, people continue to engage in abusive relationships.