You may conclude that your best recourse is to move out.

A Bonus Question
My partner and I recently moved into the bottom floor of a duplex. The couple who live above us frequently drink to excess and have extremely loud arguments in the middle of the night. These episodes involve screaming, throwing things and knocking over furniture. Obviously, this affects our ability to sleep and enjoy a peaceful living environment. We have tried asking them to stop, but they either deny anything is happening or make counter accusations that are neither fair nor true. We are in communication with the property-management company to figure out a solution, but when the neighbors found out we filed a noise complaint, they were furious and sent us vaguely threatening text messages.

My primary dilemma is this: Sometimes it sounds like the man is physically abusing the woman. We once clearly heard him throw her on the ground while she was sobbing and begging him to stop. Are we obligated to call the police to report him for domestic violence? My partner texted the woman to ask if she was OK or needed help, but she brushed it off. I doubt that this woman would be honest with the police if they showed up. She seems determined to deny that it’s happening. Furthermore, we are worried about possible retaliation. They would assume that we were the ones who called the police, and they seem emotionally unstable and violent. What are our ethical duties in this situation? — Name Withheld

From the Ethicist:

There’s a strong case for reporting seeming incidents of physical abuse to the authorities. If something terrible were to happen to her, you wouldn’t want to have been a passive witness. But yes, a few aspects of this situation complicate that case. Victims of intimate partner abuse are often inclined to cover the fact up, and you have grounds for doubting that she’d confirm your account if you made a report. Because you aren’t friendly with these people, your options for intervention are limited — though you might seek further guidance from a local domestic hotline or advocacy organization.

You’re also entitled to consider your own safety. You could reasonably judge that intervening is unlikely to help the woman upstairs while exposing you and your partner to harm. In the meantime, keep a record of these episodes; if the threatening messages you have already received are too vague to prompt legal action, you can pass them along to the management company. But having hostile relations with your neighbors in a small building is a recipe for misery, all the more so if they’re volatile and violent. They don’t have to attack you physically to behave maliciously, and in ways that are hard to prove. You may conclude that your best recourse is to move out.