Relationship Abuse (also known as Domestic Abuse) is when a person engages in a behaviors that are abusive to their partner or ex-partner. Relationship abuse is common and 1 in 5 women will be a victim/survivor and there is also a higher rate of victim/survivors in the LGBTQ+ community.
Coercive Control is often used as a term to describe what is happening in an abusive relationship. It is a crime and described as when a person "engages in a course of behaviour which is abusive of their partner or ex-partner and is intended to cause them physical or psychological harm or is seen as causing harm by a reasonable person"
It is important to recognise that abusive behaviours in a relationship takes many forms and that psychological or emotional harm is as damaging as physical violence. Some examples of abusive behaviors are:
Physical harm: Slapping, hitting, kicking, punching, strangulating
Sexual harm: Sexual acts that are unwanted or non consensual
Emotional harm: bullying, putting you down, belittling, demeaning, blaming,
Controlling behaviors; such as deciding what you can wear, where you go, checking your phone
Isolating behaviors; such as deciding who you can talk to, preventing you from seeing family and friends
Financial control
Intimidation and Threats
Most often an abusive relationship contain a host of abusive behaviours which are used in order to exercise power and control over you, making you feel dependent and possibly fearful of your partner.
