What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence occurs when one partner uses physical, emotional, sexual and/or financial abuse to maintain power and control over the other.
For many people, identifying physical abuse is relatively easy. Physical Abuse includes being hit, slapped, pushed, kicked or beaten. Emotional, sexual and financial abuse are often more difficult to identify.
Examples of Emotional Abuse Include:
- Being threatened
- Being harassed
- Being stalked
- Being called names
- Being intimidated by your partner
- Being humiliated or otherwise degraded by your partner
Examples of Sexual Abuse Include:
- Being forced to perform sexual acts against your will
- Not having your feelings about intimacy respected
- Being too afraid of your partner to turn down sexual advances
- Being accused of flirting or having sex with others
- Forced sex
- Being denied birth control
Examples of Financial Abuse Include:
- Being denied access to money
- Being forced to turn over your checks to your partner
- Having your partner run up your credit card bills or otherwise sabotage your personal credit
- Being prevented from getting or keeping a job
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