Why are there special laws for violence against spouses and partners?

[John_Bredin]

@Jragon

Of course, that raises the question about why roommate violence isn’t treated the same as intimate partner violence. (Unless it is in some areas?)

It is is Illinois, where the Criminal Code distinguishes domestic battery from battery and aggravated domestic battery from aggravated battery by the fact that the victim is “any family or household member” where

“Family or household members” include spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren, and other persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have or allegedly have a child in common, persons who share or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, persons with disabilities and their personal assistants, and caregivers

(Emphasis added by me.) Interestingly enough, the original 1986 law included roommates and ex-roommates right along with more “traditional” categories (spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons related by blood or marriage), while people with a child in common, people dating or engaged, and disabled persons/assistants weren’t added until the '90s.

[ctnguy]

Similarly, in my jurisdiction (South Africa) the domestic violence law includes people who “share or recently shared the same residence”, alongside spouses, unmarried partners, the parents of a child, family members in general, and people who are dating or engaged. And to address a different point, there aren’t special criminal charges for domestic violence, just special police procedures and civil provisions for protective orders.