What are the forms of domestic violence/abuse?
If you find yourself in any of the situations below, there is a possibility that you are in an unhealthy relationship. If this could put your life in danger, call 112 or 0800 500 333, a national non-stop and free number.
Physical violence is when your partner:
– Destroys things when angry, throws objects, breaks things, etc.
– Pushes you, hits you, chokes you, burns you, etc.
– Abandons you in a dangerous or unfamiliar place and you have to walk home alone.
– Scares you by driving aggressively and/or recklessly.
– Uses weapons to threaten or hurt you.
– Forces you to leave the house.
– Hurts your children.
– Uses physical force in sexual situations or forces you to have sex with him.
– Locks you in the house, prevents you from leaving (deprivation of liberty).
– Prevents you from calling the police or seeking medical attention.
Sexual violence means:
Any act of a sexual nature committed without the consent of the other person, including marital rape. This can include advances, verbal allusion, gestures, touching (repeated and non-reciprocal), etc.
Sexual violence is when your partner:
– Always wants you to dress provocatively
– Forces or manipulates you into having sex with him and ignores your feelings about sex
– Asks you to have sex when you are sick, tired, or after hitting/hurting you
– Involves other people in your sexual activities against your will
– Forces/manipulates you into prostitution “for the good of the family”
Emotional or psychological violence is when your partner:
– Curses, insults, criticizes or ridicules you.
– Controls you (how you dress, who you see, who you talk to).
– Monitors your outings, calls and the people you meet.
– Does not trust you and is very jealous or possessive.
– Tries to isolate you from family and/or friends.
– Humiliates you in front of his friends.
– Punishes you by withdrawing affection.
– Expects you to ask permission for everything you want to do.
– Threatens to hurt you or your children, relatives, pets.
Verbal violence is when your partner:
– Raises their voice at you.
– Constantly blames or criticizes you.
– Addresses you with offensive, brutal language.
– Uses insults or threats.
– Uses degrading or humiliating words and expressions to control you.
– Does not let you express yourself freely, talk about yourself, your emotions, your experiences, etc.
Economic or financial violence is when your partner:
– Forbids you from getting a job.
– Excludes you from making money-related decisions.
– Always tells you that he takes care of you and you don’t have to work.
– Gives you a limited amount of money per month and has angry outbursts when you need money for justified emergencies.
– Makes you humiliate yourself in order to receive a tiny amount of money.
– Holds you accountable for every amount of money spent, sometimes degenerating into physical violence.
– Deprives you of basic necessities (food, medicine, etc.).
– Forbids you from using shared assets.
Social violence is when your partner:
– Isolating you from family, friends, colleagues or anyone who could provide support.
– Forbidding you from going to work to reduce contact with others.
– Limiting your access to information.
– Controlling the information you have access to (for example, forcing you to close a social media account).
– Constantly wants to know who you are talking to.
Spiritual violence is when your partner:
– Undervalues, ridicules or denies you access to the cultural, ethnic, linguistic or religious values that you practice and imposes other values on you, which lead to the loss of your identity.
– Forces you to do things that your religion or belief prohibits.
– Forbids you from practicing the religious traditions you are accustomed to or forces you to adopt a new religion.
– Uses religious beliefs and customs to manipulate, dominate, control you.
Cyberbullying is when your partner:
– Harasses, stalks, or threatens you online.
– Threatens to post intimate images or graphic content online without your consent.
– Tracks and intercepts various communication devices without your consent.
– Has control over your social media accounts and constantly checks who you have talked to and what information you access online.
– Forces you to delete your social media accounts or cleans out your friends list without your consent.
– Blames you for your online behavior.