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Domestic abuse, or domestic violence, is a wide field of connected crimes based around the home, with relatives abusing one another in some fashion - normally it is associated with violence against women and children but men can also be victims of abuse in their own homes, as can same-sex couples.

Abusive relationships have been a major social sin in recent times due to a raised awareness of women's rights and child welfare as well as a decline in some cultures of the traditional "macho" male image that promoted some abuse (for example some societies believed hitting a woman was acceptable to keep her "in her place" and beating children was common until fairly recent history).

The most extreme cases of domestic abuse can sometimes lead to familicide.

In many areas, domestic abuse is now a criminal offense and abusers are often shunned by society due to the crime now having a social stigma (see above).

Notable domestic abusers