Help, I Need Advice.

My relationship with my boyfriend has started to escalate in physical violence. He says it does not count as domestic violence since we're a same sex couple, and he says that trying to get any kind of help will be pointless. He's lashing out at me more often. He's hit me, threatened to hurt my dog, and most recently he choked me. I've thought about leaving, but the more I think about it the less of an option it seems at the moment. I'm 17 and currently unemployed, so I really couldn't afford a place of my own at the moment. Only a friend knows about my situation. My parents also aren't really an option either since they don't accept me and had wanted me to move out. After an incident in the past, I had went to stay at this friend's house temporarily, but my boyfriend freaked out and I feel it made things worse, so I'm afraid that things will be worse if I try and leave. He was never ever like this before, I hope that he can be the person he was before again. But I don't feel safe living with him. I don't know what's best to do at this point.