Emotional and sexual abuse in partner relationships

Abstract

The paper focuses on selected criminological and victimological aspects of intimate relationships. In the first section, some characteristics of emotional dynamics of (violent) intimate partner relationships are highlighted from the psychological point of view, as well as presented an area which has been so far neglected by domestic scientific research: the "criminology of emotions". After discussing the problem of the criminological and victimological significance of the (non)emergence of certain concrete emotions in partner relationship, the author deals with conceptual relationships between psychological and emotional violence and criticizes the reification of the first, as well as concepts in the literature that place the aforementioned categories on two different levels. In the second section, the paper addresses the basic phenomenological issues of a special type of sexual violence between (potential) partners, i.e., date rape, which deserves every attention (in the Slovene context so far insufficient) of criminological science due to the number of characteristics, dangers and contradictions connected with this phenomenon. After presenting these issues, the author indicates the need also to take into consideration exceptions to the "traditional" relationship man - woman, offender - victim and non-traditional roles these actors might play within their relationship.