Domestic Violence Facts
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior or coercive control on any relationship that is used by one person to gain or maintain power and control over another. Often domestic violence can be subtle and can happen slowly in a relationship. Anyone can be abused, and sometimes leaving can be very hard and dangerous due to the abuser’s actions. Abusers gain or maintain power and control in many ways. The more the abused person tries to pull away from the relationship, the more an abuser tries to gain and maintain power and control, often in more dangerous ways. The following is a list of some ways in which someone can be abused by their partner. Here is a list of just some vital domestic violence facts.
Domestic violence can be:
Emotional abuse-
Calling their partner names like fat, ugly, stupid, crazy, sensitive or lazy
Controlling everyday life
Blaming their partner when things go wrong
Preventing their partner from talking to people that can help
Humiliating their partner in public or when with friends or family
Manipulating through anger, guilt, shame, fear, or other emotions
Acting jealous and isolating you from friends and family
Psychological abuse-
Brainwashing by trying to cause confusion about reality, “crazymaking”
Monitoring through technology or other means so that the abuser seems to know everything about the partner
Forcing their partner to stay awake for long hours leading to chronic exhaustion
Forcing children to engage in verbal or physical abuse
Threatening to “out” their partner if they are gay
Threatening to have their partner deported
Switching from violent to kind behavior to control a partner
Economic abuse-
Controlling the family money
Forcing their partner to give paychecks to the abuser
Not allowing you to work, go to school or attend other activities that would provide economic independence
Depriving you of money for basic expenses
Trying to get you fired from work
Taking your passport, social security card, or driver’s license or other documents
Sexual abuse-
Hurting you during sex
Forcing sexual acts
Having affairs
Purposely infecting their partner with HIV/AIDS
Physical abuse-
Pinching, poking, slapping, biting, punching, strangling, burning, or cutting their partner
Forcing their partner to take drugs
Hurting their partner’s pet
Taking assistance devices, such as TTY, glasses, medicine, or ramp
This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, or injure someone.
