The Women's Center

Types of Abuse/Domestic Violence

• Physical Abuse
• Sexual Abuse
• Emotional Abuse
• Financial Abuse

Physical Abuse:
The abuser:

• spits at you; scratches, bites, or grabs you
• shakes, shoves, pushes, restrains, or throws you
• twists, slaps, punches, chokes, or burns you
• throws objects at you; may use weapons to threaten you, attack you, or even kill you
• locks you out of the house; refuses to help when you are sick
• gets abusive during mealtimes to prevent you from eating in peace; gets abusive during sleep time to disrupt your sleep

Sexual Abuse:
The abuser:

• is jealous, possessive; calls you sexual names
• withholds sex and affection as a punishment; coerces you to have sex by manipulation or threats
• pressures you to have sex when you don't want to
• physically forces you to have sex; is violent during sex
• coerces you into sexual acts which you are uncomfortable with (sex with a third party, physically painful sex, or sexual activity you find offensive)
• is verbally denigrating during sex
• forces you to not use birth control or to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases he/she may have
• is unfaithful to you after committing to monogamy

Emotional Abuse:
The abuser:

• attacks you verbally in public or in private
• insults you about things like your weight, your culture, your education, your religion, your language, or even your history as a survivor of his/her abuse
• forces you to commit actions you think are degrading
• withholds approval or affection as a punishment; plays mind or ''head'' games
• regularly threatens to leave you or tells you to leave
• always claims to be right; breaks promises, does not follow through on agreements
• isolates you from your family and/or friends

Financial Abuse:
Actions indicating presence of financial abuse:

• controls all the money; has all the bills in his/her name
• does not allow you to work outside the house, or refuses to work himself/herself and makes you support the family
• puts you on an allowance for you and the children
• takes away your paycheck
• saves or spends money while depriving you and your kids of things you need
  
  

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