Focus on domestic violence

For the purposes of this Act, domestic violence means any unlawful act, omission or behaviour which results in death or the direct in infliction of physical, sexual or mental injury to any complainant by a respondent and includes the following—

(a) physical abuse;

(b) sexual abuse;

(c) emotional, verbal and psychological abuse;

` (d) economic abuse;

(e) intimidation;

(f) harassment;

(g) stalking;

(h) malicious damage to property;

(i) forcible entry into the complainant's residence where the parties do not share the same residence;

(j) depriving the complainant of or hindering the complainant from access to or a reasonable share of the use of the facilities associated with the complainant's place of residence;

(k) the unreasonable disposal of household effects or other property in which the complainant has an interest;

(l) abuse derived from the following cultural or customary rites or practices that discriminate against or degrade women—

(i) forced virginity testing; or

(ii) female genital mutilation; or

(iii) pledging of women or girls for purposes of appeasing spirits; or

(iv) forced marriage; or

(v) child marriage; or

(vi) forced wife inheritance; or

(vii) sexual intercourse between fathers-in-law and newly married daughters-in-law;

(m) abuse perpetrated on the complainant by virtue of complainant's age, or complainant's physical or mental incapacity;

(n) abuse perpetrated on the complainant by virtue of complainant's physical, mental or sensory disability, including a visual, hearing or speech functional disability;

(o) abuse perpetrated on the complainant by virtue of complainant's mental illness, arrested or incomplete development of the mind, psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or disability of the mind;

(p) any act of domestic violence described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h) or (i) when it is perpetrated on the person or property of the complainant's representative.