The ability of a victim of intimate partner violence to realise the nature of the actions committed against her/him and to resist them

Abstract

Introduction. One of the main problems of ensuring personal safety is studying intimate partner violence in a legal context. This article for the first time deals with the situation of intimate partner violence as legally significant, based on the qualifying features of the offence of sexual inviolability. Research methods and results. In the course of theoretical analysis, possible types of behaviour of the victim in a situation of intimate partner violence were identified, as well as distinctive features of the crime committed in partner relationships in comparison with sexual offences. The main identifiable features of the ability of a victim of intimate partner violence to realise the nature of the actions committed against her/him and to resist them were determined, including the ability to identify what happens as violence, to adequately assess the violent actions, to predict the consequences of such relationships and actions, to regulate her/his own behaviour in a legally significant situation; personal experience (in childhood and in her/his own relationships); the level of mental development, the peculiarity of subjective processing of information; individual and personal characteristics of a victim of intimate partner violence. The necessity of determining a legally defined qualifying feature of the corpus delicti in cases of intimate partner violence is emphasised.