DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Any family, any age, many forms. It is a pattern of behavior that seeks to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation. It often includes the threat or use of violence. Battering takes many forms including: isolation, verbal and emotional abuse (name calling, insulting, ignoring, humiliating, harassing or intimidating) economical abuse, threats to or about the children (or pets), sexual abuse, physical abuse (hitting, kicking, pushing, choking, biting, tripping, throwing or restraining).
Emotional Abuse
Someone who constantly criticizes or humiliates their partner, blames them for no reason. May be obsessively jealous, may lie to manipulate and punishes their significant other when they are angry.
Physical Abuse
Persons who push, slap, kick, restrain, bite, use a weapon, or throws objects. Any unwanted action that causes bodily injury or pain is physical abuse.
Isolation
Person prevents their partner from seeing family or friends. May get jealous of anyone else in their partners life and threatens harm.
Threats
Someone who threatens to harm, family, friends or pets. This person says they will damage property or threatens to expose information that could be hurtful to their significant other.
Financial Control
A person who prevents their significant other from getting or maintaining a job, May control shared resources, may refuse to pay fair share, and may steal money or property.
Property Destruction
A person who frightens their partner by smashing objects or destroying things. May damage or sell things that their significant other values.
SEXUAL ASSAULT
Sexual assault is any unwanted act of a sexual nature without the consent of the individual. This may include sexual harassment, rape, sexual mistreatment, molestation, unwanted exposure, voyeurism and exhibitionism. It also includes incest, date rape and marital rape.