Definitions of Domestic Violence - Hawaii

Defined in Domestic Violence Civil Laws

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 586-1

'Domestic abuse' means the following:

• Physical harm, bodily injury, or assault; the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault; extreme psychological abuse; coercive control; or malicious property damage between family or household members
• Any act that would constitute an offense under § 709-906 (abuse of family or household members), or under part V (sexual offenses), or VI (child abuse) of chapter 707 committed against a minor family or household member by an adult family or household member

'Extreme psychological abuse' means an intentional course of conduct directed at a person that seriously alarms or continually bothers the person and that serves no legitimate purpose, provided that such course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to suffer extreme emotional distress.

'Coercive control' means a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions, including assaults or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten a person. 'Coercive control' includes a pattern of behavior that seeks to take away the person's liberty or freedom and strip away the person's sense of self, including bodily integrity and human rights. It is designed to make a person dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence, and regulating their everyday behavior, including the following:

• Isolating the person from friends and family
• Controlling how much money is accessible to the person and how it is spent
• Monitoring the person's activities, communications, and movements
• Name-calling, degradation, and demeaning the person frequently
• Threatening to harm or kill the person or a child or relative of the person
• Threatening to publish information or make reports to the police or the authorities
• Damaging property or household goods
• Forcing the person to take part in criminal activity or child abuse

Defined in Child Abuse Reporting and Child Protection Laws

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Defined in Criminal Laws

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 709-906

It shall be unlawful for any person, singly or in concert, to physically abuse a family or household member or to refuse compliance with the lawful order of a police officer.

It shall be a petty misdemeanor for a person to intentionally or knowingly strike, shove, kick, or otherwise touch a family or household member in an offensive manner or subject the family member or household member to offensive physical contact.

When the physical abuse consists of intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury by impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood by applying pressure on the throat or the neck with any part of the body or a ligature, blocking the nose and mouth, or applying pressure to the chest, abuse of a family or household member is a class C felony. Infliction of visible bodily injury shall not be required to establish an offense under this subsection.

Persons Included in the Definition

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 586-1; 709-906

In civil law: 'Family or household member' means spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries, former spouses or former reciprocal beneficiaries, persons who have a child in common, parents, children, persons related by consanguinity, persons jointly residing or formerly residing in the same dwelling unit, and persons who have or have had a dating relationship. The term 'family or household member' does not include those who are, or were, adult roommates or cohabitants only by virtue of an economic or contractual affiliation.

'Dating relationship' means a romantic, courtship, or engagement relationship, which is often, but not necessarily, characterized by actions of an intimate or sexual nature but does not include a casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context.

In criminal law: 'Family or household member' means spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries, former spouses or former reciprocal beneficiaries, persons in a dating relationship as defined under § 586-1, persons who have a child in common, parents, children, persons related by consanguinity, and persons jointly residing or formerly residing in the same dwelling unit. The term 'family or household member' does not include those who are, or were, adult roommates or cohabitants only by virtue of an economic or contractual affiliation.