Domestic Violence
Domestic violence, intimate partner violence, family violence, dating violence happens when an individual uses a repetitive pattern of abuse to maintain power and control over their partner. The abuse can physically harm, arouse fear, prevent a person from acting freely, or force them to behave in ways they do not want.
Abuse can happen to anyone.
It is not limited to a specific age, class, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Abuse can happen in relationships where couples are married, living together, dating or having children together.
Violent behavior can appear at any time in a relationship.
Violent behavior can appear at any time in a relationship, though possessive, controlling and other alarming behavior often reveals itself as the relationship becomes more serious.
No one expects the person they are with to become abusive.
Types of Domestic Abuse
There are several types of abuse. People in abusive relationships often experience more than one type of abuse. Abusive behaviors can include, but are not limited to:
- Pushes, hits, slaps, punches, or strangles you
- Bites, beats, stabs, drowns or burns you
- Pulls your hair
- Hurts you with weapons
- Hurts your children
- Hurts your pets
- Forces you to use drugs or alcohol
- Traps you in your home or blocks you from leaving
- Drives dangerously to scare you when you are in the car with them
- Uses weapons to threaten to hurt you, your children, family members or pets
- Calls you names, insults, or criticizes you
- Constantly yells or screams at you to put you down
- Isolates you from your family, friends or community
- Accuses you of cheating and acts extremely jealous or possessive
- Threatens to hurt you, your children, family members or pets
- Cheats on you or flirts with others to intentionally hurt you
- Forces you to commit a crime
- Blames you for their abusive behavior or denies their actions are hurtful (ex. gaslighting)
- Calls you hurtful sexual names
- Hurts the sexual parts of your body (ex. fondles, grabs, pinches)
- Continually pressures to have sex and/or tries to normalize demands for sex by saying things like, “I need it, I’m a man” “you must because we are married”
- Becomes angry or violent when refused sex
- Gives you drugs or alcohol to “loosen up” your inhibitions and to where you are unable to consent to sexual activity
- Forces you to have sex or engage in unwanted sexual activity (ex. rape, anal rape, forced masturbation or forced oral sex)
- Forces you to dress in a sexual way
- Ignores your feelings about sex
- Holds you down during sex
- Uses weapons or other objects to hurt the sexual parts of your body
- Records or photographs you in a sexual way without your consent
- Forces or manipulates you to watch pornography
- Intentionally tries to pass on a sexually transmitted disease to you
- Hides or sabotages birth control
- Threatens to leave if you do not get pregnant
- Gives you an allowance and tracks how much you spend
- Refuses to give you money for necessities like food, clothes, transportation and/or medicine
- Keeps your paycheck or other income payments in their bank account and doesn’t give you access to it
- Maxes out your credit cards or takes out loans in your name without your consent
- Prevents you from working or tells you how much you can work
- Pressures you to ask friends or relatives for money
- Steals money from you or from shared accounts
- Keeps money, accounts or financial information hidden from you
- Constantly calls or texts to “check-in”
- Repeatedly looks through your texts, phone messages or outgoing calls
- Demands access and passwords to online accounts
- Monitors your Internet and computer use
- Tells you who you can and can’t be friends with on social media sites
- Pressures you to send sexually explicit videos or photos of yourself
- Humiliates you by tagging you in hurtful social media updates
- Reveals secrets or private photos of you online
- Sends threatening, degrading or harassing emails, messages or texts to you
- Uses GPS or social media location updates to track or follow you
Unsure if the situation you are in is abusive? Need someone to help sort out your thoughts?
A CSN advocate is always there to assist.
Support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Get help by calling our 24/7 Helpline at 307-733-7233 (SAFE) or by sending us a message via our contact form.
