In Sweden and in other countries, it has become increasingly common to view violence from a public health perspective. This chapter presents a description of interpersonal violence with an emphasis on violence in close relations, particularly in partner relationships.

According to the Swedish Crime Survey 2010, approximately one in ten inhabitants was exposed to violence, threats or harassment of some kind in 2009. Young people and single mothers with small children are particularly vulnerable to violence. According to Statistics Sweden’s ULF surveys (Survey on Living Conditions) for 2004–2005, 17 per cent of men and 12 per cent of women aged 16–24 years reported having been subjected to violence or serious threats at some time in the previous 12 months.

Boys and men are more frequently subjected to lethal violence and to violence resulting in hospitalisation than girls and women. Similarly, men also make up a majority of the victims of assaults reported to the police. On the other hand, domestic violence and work-related violence more often involve women than men, and sexual violence is chiefly directed at girls and women. Most women and children who are subjected to assault are acquainted with the perpetrator, while this only applies to a minority of male victims. Women are four to five times as likely to be killed by a partner as men. Partner assaults against women, rapes, and gross violations of a woman’s integrity account for a fifth of all reported crimes of violence (against women and men combined).

Violence in partner relationships has significant consequences for physical and mental health; between 12,000 and 14,000 women seek outpatient care each year as a result of violence committed by a partner. Violence can also have serious social repercussions: isolation, financial difficulties, sick leave from work, unemployment, etc., and women subjected to this