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Newspapers reported acts of family violence which kill or maime. The public reacts to the detailed accounts with outrage, but remain ignorant to the real facts of what is happening in many homes across the nation. Few have a real understanding of what constitutes family violence, what causes family violence, and what society needs to do to help solve this social problem. The words family violence conjure up images of wives being brutally beaten or children suffering physical injury at the hands of an adult. These acts are at the severe end of the spectrum of family violence. Violence and abuse are extremely difficult concepts to define. Offender’s views differ from those of victims. Agents of social control (eg. police or social workers) may have different perceptions than participants. Many see force differently from violence. Is a spanking violent? Is it the same as punching, kicking, stabbing or shooting someone? Researchers believe that all violent acts from pushing and shoving to shooting and stabbing belong under a single definition of violence. The Alberta Department of Justice endorses the same belief. Family violence has been traditionally viewed as a social or family problem. Some forms of physical and sexual abuse