This refers to the type of violence that take places in the domestic sphere, regardless of who exercises it or who suffers it (mothers and fathers against children, young people against elders, men against their wives, etc.). However, it is often used to refer to gender-based violence against women in the domestic sphere, since—historically—violence against women was considered to occur only in the private sphere, and that only partners or former partners could exercise said violence.
In Latin America, the terms gender-based violence and violence against women (and their variants) are widely recognized and used by governments, the media, and the population in general. However, the use of the term domestic violence to refer to this phenomenon continues, especially in non-specialized media outlets.
In English-speaking countries, the term domestic violence is even more common to refer to violence against women. The term gender-based violence—or its variants—is seldom used outside of academic spheres and collectives that work exclusively on this issue. The Encyclopaedia Britannica does not even recognize gender-based violence; instead, it includes the concept violence against women in its definition of domestic violence. The UK National Health Service (NHS) does not include a definition or information with the term gender-based violence either; it does, however, under the term domestic violence. Domestic violence is also commonly confused with partner violence.
Both in English and Spanish, when searching for the terms domestic violence and gender-based violence in the main search engines (Google, for example), they appear interchangeably. In other words, searching for one generates results for the other.