The chapter first notes that research has shown that although the majority of crimes and assaults against men are perpetrated by strangers and acquaintances, women are more likely to be raped, beaten, stalked, or killed by their intimate/romantic partner. A discussion of the definition of "intimate violence" focuses on the concepts of "battering" and "patriarchal terrorism." "Battering" is used to describe a pattern of behavior through which one person continually reinforces a power imbalance over another in an intimate/romantic relationship. Typically, a batterer uses both assaultive and nonassaultive behaviors that have the effect of dominating, controlling, and inducing fear and/or subservience in the relationship partner. The concept of "patriarchal terrorism" is often used by feminist researchers to refer to the systematic use of violence as well as economic subordination, threats, isolation, and other control tactics against a relationship partner based on patriarchal cultural conditioning. A section of the chapter on characteristics of intimate violence against women addresses the ongoing, multidimensional, and changing nature of violence; battering in an ongoing relationship; shared lives; and beliefs about victim responsibility for the violence. Another section of the chapter discusses trends and statistics for various types of abuse, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, stalking, and homicide. Other major sections of the chapter address chronicity and overlap of types of violence, the characteristics of batterers and their behaviors, the woman survivor of intimate violence, intimate violence and the stage of the relationship, diverse peoples and intimate violence, immigrant women, same-sex relationships, other groups of women, and new directions for research. 5 notes and 172 references