Coping with domestic violence

Does your partner…

• Use intimidation or threats?
• Grab, push, restrain, or hit you?
• Isolate you from family or friends?
• Keep financial resources from you?
• Embarrass you in front of others?

What are domestic violence and domestic abuse?

Abuse is the use or threat of physical or verbal behavior intended to control another human being. The goal of the abuser is to gain and maintain a sense of power. Abusive behavior can be very subtle — like a suggestion — or very obvious, such as life-threatening acts of violence. Both are used to create a feeling of intimidation.

Domestic violence is more than physical abuse. Domestic violence affects every aspect of a victim’s life. It involves an imbalance of power and control in a relationship. Every member of a family in a domestic violence relationship is affected.

Domestic violence takes place in the home within a family or between two people in a relationship. Domestic violence can happen between married, unmarried partners, in same-sex relationships, and crosses all religious, racial, ethnic, and socio-economic levels.

UNDERSTANDING POWER AND CONTROL

The Power and Control Wheel is a tool that helps explain the different ways an abusive partner can use power and control to manipulate a relationship. Click to view it at full size.