This page provides definitions of terms related to gender-based violence (GBV), particularly as they relate to domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, and perpetrator work.

Violence directed at individuals based on their gender, gender identity, or perceived adherence to traditional gender roles. It includes various forms of abuse that reinforce structural inequalities.

WWP EN Tip: Service providers must deconstruct gender roles and promote accountability for gendered harm. Encourage inclusive practices that challenge stereotypes, foster respectful behavior, and recognize diverse experiences of oppression and abuse.

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International data on gender-based violence

A form of domestic violence occurring between individuals in a current or former romantic or sexual relationship. IPV reflects systemic gender inequalities and reinforces patterns of patriarchal control.

WWP EN Tip: IPV interventions must address entitlement and relational aggression rooted in gender roles. Promote behavioral change by encouraging perpetrators to challenge power-based expectations and cultivate accountable, respectful intimacy.

A recurring pattern within abusive relationships typically marked by tension-building, acute violence, and a honeymoon phase. It reflects the dynamics of control, guilt, and minimization.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must disrupt this cycle by promoting accountability and long-term behavioral change. Service providers should help participants recognize patterns and develop tools for non-violence and responsibility.

A person who has been harmed by abuse. The term recognizes the experience of being targeted, hurt, or controlled. While accurate, some may prefer “survivor” as it centers agency and resilience.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must honor victims' experiences without blame. Service providers should use victim-centered language that acknowledges harm, validates trauma, and promotes dignity.

A person who has experienced domestic violence and continues to live beyond it. Survivor perspectives are essential to GBV-informed perpetrator work.

WWP EN Tip: Ground perpetrator work in survivor-centered approaches. Prioritize survivor safety and voices while ensuring respectful, equitable relational change.

An individual who engages in abusive behaviors. Understanding perpetration requires exploring gendered power dynamics and social conditioning.

WWP EN Tip: Use gendered analysis to engage perpetrators in meaningful change. Encourage responsibility by connecting harmful behavior to broader patterns and fostering values-based transformation.

Freely given, informed, and ongoing agreement to engage in an activity. It must be enthusiastic and revocable at any time.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must highlight consent as foundational to healthy relationships. Service providers should dismantle myths, promote clear communication, and emphasize respect for boundaries.

The exertion of power over another person’s autonomy, choices, or environment. It underlies many forms of abuse.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must expose how control is used to dominate and silence. Service providers should reframe relationships around equity, freedom, and mutual respect.

A process through which perpetrators take responsibility for their actions, acknowledge harm caused, and engage in meaningful change. It challenges societal excuses for abusive behavior.

WWP EN Tip: Create structured, supportive pathways toward accountability. Reinforce the importance of change grounded in empathy, survivor safety, and relational justice.

A social system in which men hold primary power, shaping institutions, norms, and relationships. It underpins many forms of gender-based violence.

WWP EN Tip: Support reflection on how patriarchal systems influence behavior and relationships. Facilitate accountability by helping perpetrators understand and disrupt patriarchal conditioning and commit to justice and equality.

A pattern of behavior used to gain and maintain power and control over another. Abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, economic, or digital.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must define abuse broadly and address its diverse forms. Service providers should use clear language, challenge minimization, and foster accountability.

Any use of physical force against another person in a way that injures or endangers them. This form of abuse is often gendered and used to reinforce control.

WWP EN Tip: Interventions must take a clear stance against physical violence while addressing the beliefs behind it. Promote responsibility, safety planning, and healing-centered alternatives to control.

Any non-consensual sexual act or behavior imposed on someone, often used as a means of domination. It reflects gendered entitlement and disregard for bodily autonomy.

WWP EN Tip: Support perpetrators to understand consent, bodily autonomy, and respectful intimacy. Promote long-term behavioral change by challenging sexual entitlement and fostering accountability and empathy.

Abuse that affects a person’s mental well-being, including threats, intimidation, manipulation, and gaslighting. It is often embedded in gendered dynamics of control.

WWP EN Tip: Raise awareness of the emotional impact of psychological abuse. Promote accountability by helping participants build emotional regulation and empathic, non-coercive ways of relating.

Tactics used to undermine an individual's self-worth, such as belittling, humiliation, or constant criticism. These behaviors often reflect societal norms that devalue emotional expression.

WWP EN Tip: Confront harmful emotional behaviors and link them to gendered beliefs. Help perpetrators explore compassion and vulnerability as essential tools for building respectful, healthy partnerships.

Controlling a person's access to financial resources to increase dependency and exert control. This form of abuse is often gendered, targeting financial independence.

WWP EN Tip: Promote fairness and financial respect in relationships. Help perpetrators identify patterns of control and develop practices that support equity and shared responsibility.

The use of technology—such as social media, messaging, or tracking devices—to stalk, control, harass, or manipulate a partner. These behaviors can reinforce gendered power dynamics.

WWP EN Tip: Address digital abuse by teaching boundaries, consent, and accountability in online spaces. Support responsible use of technology as part of wider relational respect and trust-building.

Repeated, unwanted attention and surveillance that causes fear. It often involves entitlement to control and disregard for the other’s autonomy.

WWP EN Tip: Challenge the mindset of control and entitlement behind stalking. Help participants learn to respect boundaries and autonomy, reinforcing healthy separation and consent.

Persistent and unwanted behavior that intimidates, demeans, or threatens. It can occur in private or public settings and often targets individuals based on gender, identity, or perceived vulnerability.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must identify harassment as part of broader patterns of abuse and entitlement. Service providers should work with participants to build empathy and interrupt persistent boundary violations.

Unwanted, gender-based verbal or physical behavior in public spaces. Often targets women and LGBTQ+ individuals.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must confront normalized public aggression. Service providers should teach public accountability, respect, and gender equity.

A form of street harassment involving unsolicited comments, whistles, or gestures, typically targeting women. It is rooted in entitlement and public control of bodies.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must name catcalling as harassment, not flattery. Service providers should teach respect, empathy, and challenge public entitlement.

A societal tendency to hold victims responsible for the abuse they experience. It reinforces GBV by excusing perpetrator behavior.

WWP EN Tip: Confront victim-blaming narratives and center survivor dignity. Promote full responsibility in perpetrators while shifting social norms that excuse harm.

Cultural norms that promote dominance, emotional repression, and aggression in men, contributing to a framework in which violence is normalized.

WWP EN Tip: Help participants unlearn harmful gender norms and redefine masculinity. Encourage emotional literacy and connection as strengths, promoting care and mutual respect in all relationships.

Non-consensual sexual penetration. It is a severe violation of bodily autonomy and a form of power-based violence.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, rape must be addressed with clarity and zero tolerance. Service providers should promote survivor-centered language and challenge all forms of sexual coercion.

An act of physical violence involving the use of a sharp object to inflict harm. It is a severe and often lethal form of domestic abuse.

WWP EN Tip: In domestic violence interventions and perpetrator work, service providers must treat stabbing as a form of extreme violence and control. Service providers should examine the escalation of abuse and stress the importance of risk assessment and survivor safety.