Interpersonal violence refers to violence that occurs between two people who know each other, usually in a family setting. The World Health Organization defines interpersonal violence as any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological, and/or physical harm. It can be perpetrated by a partner, an ex-partner or an acquaintance. Before the 1970s, little attention was paid to interpersonal violence and it was commonly believed that it was best left behind closed doors (Fagan, 1989). This lack of attention has led to a growth in research on interpersonal violence. People working with women experiencing interpersonal violence realized that to prevent further interpersonal violence, it was necessary to reform the abusers (Rosenfeld, 1992). Increased attention to rehabilitation has led to a number of models attempting to explain why interpersonal violence occurs. The Duluth Model, developed in 1981, became the first community-wide, multidisciplinary program designed to fully explain domestic violence. Its main objective is to reduce interpersonal violence against women and today it is the most used model in the world. The model uses the “Wheel of Power and Control” to help men understand their abusive behavior and to convince them to adopt non-violent behavior described in the “Equality” wheel. It holds violent men fully accountable for their violence and ensures the safety of victims of violence. However, many men who have committed criminal acts do not feel any sense of power or control over their lives (Dutton & Starzomski, 1994). The Duluth model views interpersonal violence as a deliberate exercise of male domination over women to conform to societal norms. From this point of view, the model does not assume that dom...... middle of paper ......ls, like the Duluth model, helps to better understand interpersonal violence perpetrated by men, they do not take into account female attackers, and cases concerning homosexual relationships. If familicide is ever to be resolved, then society must confront hegemonic masculinity. However, solving this problem requires a collective effort and a change in the way everyone in society views gender roles. Only then will interpersonal violence be reduced. It seems that hegemonic masculinity goes a long way toward explaining familicides perpetrated by men, but it fails to explain female perpetrators. There is a great lack of gender-specific explanations for interpersonal violence. However, as the 21st century progresses and the fight for gender equality continues, there is a good chance that more and more research on gender-based violence will be conducted..