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22 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Soc. Just. 417 (2012-2013)
Same-Sex Domestic Violence: The Need for Affirmative Legal Protections at All Levels of Government

handle is hein.journals/scws22 and id is 457 raw text is: SAME-SEX DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: THE NEED FOR AFFIRMATIVE LEGAL PROTECTIONS AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT CHRISTINA SAMONS I. INTRODUCTION Although U.S. legislatures and courts have taken steps to mitigate domestic violence within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, the general population and those in law enforcement positions must be educated about the unique characteristics associated with LGBT domestic violence. Further, steps should be taken to ensure that current gender-based domestic violence laws are enforced consistently and fairly. Statistics on the incidence of domestic violence are staggering: in 2007, almost one-third of female homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner; an estimated 1.3 million women are physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year; and 25% of women will experience domestic violence over the course of their life.' The effects of domestic violence are long lasting-victims are at a high risk for physical and mental health problems and other issues, such as poverty.2 The anti-rape movement in the 1970s prompted the creation of various laws to deter domestic violence and protect victims from being re- . J.D. Class of 2013, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; B.A. Rhetoric 2009, University of California, Berkeley. Special thank you to Professor Thomas D. Griffith, the LACBA Barristers' Domestic Violence Clinic, and the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center. NAT'L COAL. AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, Domestic Violence Facts (July 2007), available at www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf 2 Long-Term Effects of Domestic Violence, THE CLARK CNTY. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/domviol/effects.htm (last visited July 30, 2013). 417

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