The purpose of the Domestic Violence Division of the Johnson County District Attorney's Office is to charge and prosecute criminal cases in which the victim and the defendant have some type of domestic relationship. This division has five prosecutors and several interns assigned to it, who are responsible for prosecuting each criminal case charged. During the previous calendar year, this division charged and prosecuted over 1700 criminal cases in Johnson County, Kansas, alone.

Please read further about how to recognize if you are in an abusive relationship including:

• Types and definitions of abuse
• Typical fears of a battered person
• Common profile of an abusive relationship

If, after reading the information on this website, you have further questions, you may contact our office.

Abuse Recognition

Abuse is a forceful, controlling behavior that coerces a person to do what the abuser wants without regard to their rights, body, or health and include the following:

• Battering & Physical Assault: Throwing objects, pushing, hitting, slapping, kicking, choking, beating up, or attacking with a weapon. Forcing the victim to perform humiliating acts.
• Sexual Assault: Abuse of the vaginal area or forced intercourse (whether vaginal, oral or anal). Any sexual activity to which the victim does not consent.
• Verbal and Emotional Abuse: Told degrading remarks and put-downs; threatening to harm friends, family, children, or pets; or exerting inappropriate control over a person's life.

A battered person typically has fears that may keep them in a violent relationship, such as:

• No one will believe them.
• Everyone will blame them.
• The abuser will take the children.
• The justice system will treat them unfairly.
• They'll have no way to protect themselves or their loved ones.

The fears of battered persons are real and legitimate but there is help available.

A common profile of an abusive relationship is:

Victims often...	Abusers often...
Accept responsibility for the batterer's actions. Fear that no one will be able to help or change their situation. Assume the abuse will end if the batterer stops drinking/abusing drugs. Become dependent on the abuser-financially and emotionally. Believe abuse is a "one-time" incident - it will never happen again.	Blame others for their actions. Feel they are entitled to control their partner and that their partner is supposed to obey. Deny they have a problem and try to minimize the effects of their violence on their partner. Believe they are moral people even though they use violence. Use partner-battering and drugs/alcohol to cope with stress.