It was not all that long ago that a domestic problem was considered to be out of the jurisdiction of the law, something that couples should handle by themselves. If a husband hit his wife, or a wife hit her husband, nothing was said or done. Today, all that has changed. Domestic violence, or domestic abuse/spousal abuse now has a place in the legal system, and many laws have been enacted to protect the vulnerable parties in many relationships. Domestic violence is considered to be any sort of willful neglect or mistreatment. Any type of abuse, whether it is sexual, emotional, economic, psychological, or physical is domestic violence. Normally, domestic violence is committed by one person who is a member of the victim’s family, or someone who has been a part of the family as an unrelated household member or caretaker. Domestic violence can include, but is not limited to assault, battery, sexual assault, rape, robbery, kidnapping, harassment, property destruction, and even murder.