Domestic Violence

Domestic (or Family) violence is a serious social problem, especially because of the ongoing impact of violence on children. Family violence cuts across all cultural, economic, racial and gender divisions. 

The Family Violence Unit (“FVU”) of the Denver District Attorney's Office is a specialized unit that prosecutes all felony cases involving the physical and sexual abuse of children.  Additionally, the FVU is responsible for the prosecution of all felonies involving domestic violence, including homicides, physical assaults, sexual assaults, stalking cases, burglaries, trespass and offenses relating to violation of orders of protection.

The prosecutors, advocates, and investigators assigned to this unit have specialized training and expertise in prosecuting some of the most challenging cases in the office, and they are committed to handling them with discretion and compassion for victims.  Members of the FVU recognize that it is often difficult for victims to report intimate partner violence or child abuse, and they are dedicated to ensuring that victims and their families are protected and able to regain some control over their lives while their voices are heard in the criminal justice process.

The District Attorney’s Office works through partnerships with various community agencies to ensure a coordinated multi-agency response to domestic violence in order to provide victims with access to all possible services and resources.  The District Attorney’s Office connects victims of domestic violence with needed resources as quickly as possible, utilizing a triage approach to determine which cases are best brought as municipal ordinance violations by the City Attorney's Office or prosecuted as state crimes by the DA's Office, and coordinating with the agencies such as the Rose Andom Center, a multi-agency, safe location in downtown Denver that combines community and law enforcement resources and referrals to support victims of domestic violence. Professionals at the Rose Andom Center are available to assist with safety planning, to connect victims with community-based assistance, and to help victims better understand the criminal justice system.

What is domestic violence? 

Domestic violence is a pattern of physical, verbal, emotional, and/or sexual abuse in which a person attempts to intimidate, dominate, control, punish, or seek revenge against another person with whom they have an ongoing (or past) intimate relationship. The pattern, or cycle, repeats and can occur repeatedly during a relationship. Over time, the level of violence frequently increases. 

Domestic violence can take many forms. It can happen all the time or just once in awhile. The following are examples of domestic violence:

• Physical assault - hitting, pushing, shoving, slapping, choking, kicking, grabbing, beating, tripping, biting, use of a weapon, punching;
• Sexual assault – sexual activity without permission which can be physically forced, done through threats or intimidation, or happen when a person is too intoxicated or under the influence of any substance to agree to sexual activity;
• Stalking – a pattern of conduct in which threats are used to intimidate or harass, or which results in serious emotional distress to a person;
• Strangulation – putting hands around a person’s neck or cutting off  breathing in order to control, intimidate and/or harm that person;
• Threats to assault or to do something harmful to someone, or to someone close to that person;
• Forced isolation - controlling where someone goes or who a person is allowed to see, and/or not allowing someone to have contact with family or friends;
• Economic abuse - preventing someone from getting a job or keeping a job, controlling all the finances, withholding money, requiring someone to ask for money and/or to justify spending money; or
• Using children – threats to take away a person’s children and/or to harm the children in order to control or intimidate that person.

What are domestic violence crimes?

The Colorado legislature has defined domestic violence as any act or threatened act of violence on a person with whom the actor is or was involved with in an intimate relationship.

State law defines an intimate relationship as any type of romantic relationship, past or present, between couples. This encompasses virtually all types of couples including married and unmarried couples, same gender couples, couples who were dating, couples who have lived together, couples who have had children together, couples who are still together and couples who are no longer together. There is no time factor in the definition and there is no requirement that the couple be or were sexually intimate.

Domestic violence also includes any other crime against either a person or property when the offender is acting to coerce, control, punish, intimidate or is seeking revenge against the victim.

Some of the common crimes involving domestic violence include:

• Assault
• Sexual assault
• Violation of a protection (restraining) order
• False imprisonment
• Criminal mischief
• Menacing
• Harassment or stalking

Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Resources

There are many community resources available to assist domestic violence victims and their families.  Please see our resource guide below for a general list of services, especially if you decide to leave or need to immediately leave a situation. 

This is not a comprehensive list so make sure you also contact your victim advocate for additional services or if you are looking for a program that is not found on this list.

Additionally, there are resources to help with obtaining a protection (restraining) order.