These involve forcing someone to participate in unwanted, unsafe or degrading sexual activities or ridicule to control or limit the victim's sexuality or reproductive choices.
3. Emotional Abuse.
Emotional abuse includes verbal attacks, such as yelling, screaming, and name-calling all three of which are excellent signs of cutting others down. "In emotional abuse the use of criticism, verbal threats, social isolation, intimidation or exploitation to dominate another person are destroys the victim's self esteem and again leave's them feeling powerless." .
4. Economic or Financial Abuse.
Economic or financial abuse consists of "stealing from or defrauding a partner. Withholding money that is necessary to buy food or medical treatment, manipulating or exploiting a person for financial gain, denying a person access to financial resources, or even preventing a person from working (or controlling their choice of occupation) are all forms of economic abuse." These examples end up making the victim feel worthless, taking all sense of character away from them and making the abuser feel good because they are needed for something, they once again have total control.
5. Intimate Partner Abuse.
Intimate partner abuse is "the physical, sexual and/or psychological abuse to an individual perpetrated by a different or former intimate partner." Even though this definition is gender neutral, women are more likely to experience physical injuries and incur psychological consequences of intimate partner abuse.
Overall, abusive partners may use a number of different tactics to try to exert power and control over their victim. Abuse is a misuse of power and a violation of trust. The abuse may happen once, or it may occur in a repeating and escalating pattern over a period of months or years.
It is difficult to pin point just how wide spread domestic abuse really is because so many cases go unreported. A person who is being abused may endure that abuse for a long time before seeking support.
