Abuse includes physical, sexual or emotional attacks, ranging from mild to lethal. It is important to recognize patterns that define abuse and to understand that this behaviour is not acceptable. Click below to learn more about different types of abuse.
Physical abuse
Has your partner done any of these things to you?
– Pushed or shoved you
– Held you to keep you from leaving
– Slapped or bit you
– Kicked or choked you
– Hit or punched you
– Thrown objects at you
– Locked you out of the house
– Abandoned you in dangerous places
– Refused you help when you were sick, injured or pregnant
– Subjected you to reckless driving
– Forced you off the road or kept you from driving
– Raped you
– Threatened to hurt you with a weapon
Sexual abuse
Has your partner done any of these things to you?
– Told anti-women jokes or made demeaning remarks about women
– Treated people as sex objects
– Been jealous, angry, assuming you would have sex with any available person
– Insisted you dress in a more sexual way than you wanted
– Minimized the importance of your feelings about sex
– Criticized you sexually
– Insisted on unwanted sex and uncomfortable touching
– Withheld sex and affection
– Called you derogatory sexual names like “whore”, “frigid”
– Forced you to strip when you did not want to
– Publicly showed sexual interest in other others
– Forced sex with them or others or forced you to watch others
– Forced particular unwanted sexual acts
– Had affairs with other people after agreeing to a monogamous relationship
– Forced sex after beating
– Committed sadistic sexual acts
– Forced sex when you were sick or it was a danger to your health
– Forced sex for the purpose of hurting you with objects or weapons
Emotional abuse
Has your partner done any of these to you?
– Ignored your feelings
– Ridiculed or insulted women as a group
– Ridiculed or insulted your most valued beliefs, your religion, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, heritage or class
– Withheld approval, appreciation or affection as punishment
– Continually criticized you, called you names, shouted at you
– Insulted or drove away your friends or family
– Humiliated you in private or public
– Refused to socialize with you
– Kept you from working, controlled your money, made all decisions
– Refused to work or share money
– Took car keys or money away
– Regularly threatened to leave or told you to leave
– Threatened to hurt you or your family
– Punished or deprived the children when he was angry at you
– Threatened to kidnap the children if you left him
– Threatened to hurt children or pets to hurt you
– Told you about his affairs with other people
– Harassed you about affairs he imagined you were having
– Manipulated you with lies and contradictions
Early Warning Signs of Abuse
How do you know if the person you are dating will later become physically abusive? Women in the Victoria Family Violence Project (1996) have identified the following early warning signs, or behaviours that are typical of people who later become physically abusive. A person who becomes abusive may not have all of these characteristics, but is likely to demonstrate some of them. Click below to learn more about the different types of early warning signs of abuse.
Characteristics of abusers
– May have low self-esteem
– Uses put-downs, verbal/emotional abuse
– Blames you and others, hardly ever themselves
– Does not take responsibility for his actions
– May have a short temper, can be explosive
– Has a lack of empathy for others, is centered on themselves
– May appear tough and aggressive OR passive
– Has difficulty being appropriately assertive
– May be overprotective to the point of being controlling
– Is possessive, very jealous, may even be jealous of the time you spend with your family and friends
– May be obsessed with you, needy, clinging; they think they have to be a part of everything you do
– Often doesn’t want you to go anywhere without them
– Doesn’t communicate well about his feelings (except anger)
Controlling
– Frequently tells you what to do or not to do, where to go or not to go
– Tells you who your friends “should” or “shouldn’t” be
– Tells you how to act in various situations
– Wants you to account for where you’ve been
– Tells you what clothes to wear, how to wear your hair/makeup
– Phones you at work to make sure you’re there
– Tells you how long your phone calls should be and who to talk to or not to talk to
– Tells you what time to come home
– Doesn’t announce that they are coming to visit, just arrives
– Makes the major decisions
– Is manipulative
Invasion of privacy
Invades your privacy by:
– Going through your purse
– Listening to your phone calls
– Opening your mail
– Going through your diary
– Wanting to know your conversations word for word
– Following you when you leave the room even though you want to be left alone
– Asking friends and family about what you do
Dependence
– Takes control of the money
– Doesn’t want you to work
– Doesn’t want you to have your own bank account
– Tells you that you don’t have the skills and couldn’t make it on your own
– Tells you “no one else will love you”
– Says that you are stupid
– Doesn’t want you to learn to drive
– May encourage you to quit school
Isolation
Attempts to isolate you by:
– Being rude to your friends so that they will stop visiting you
– Starting an argument with you right before you leave to go out with a friend
– Telling you lies about what your friends have said about you
– Doesn’t want you to go out with friends without them
– Belittling your friends
– Tells you not to see your family
– Doesn’t want you to meet their friends
– Wants you to choose between them and your friends
– Holding messages back from you
Other Behaviours
– Not respecting your sexual boundaries
– Being chauvinistic
– Condoning violence against women
– Threatening to get sex elsewhere
– Using aggressive gestures (e.g. smacking hand on furniture, clenching fist)
– Making threats of violence
– Being violent towards pets
– Damaging property in anger
– Intimidating others
– Eventually using physical force against you (slaps, kicks, punches, punches, holds you down, blocks doorways, throws things, prevents you from using the phone, drives fast to intimidate you, etc.)
