What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence is a series of repeated acts aimed at asserting the power to dominate the other person. It occurs within a marital or romantic relationship and can happen at any age or stage of life. Violent behaviours are manifest in different ways, through verbal, physical, emotional, sexual or economic abuse.
How to recognize it?
Violent actions are repeated and varied. For example, the violent person might :
- Devalue, insult
- Humiliate
- Hit, shove
- Blackmail, threaten
- Isolate
- Shout
- Pound on a wall, hit things or animals
- Bite, burn
- Sexually disparage
- Force a sexual act (without consent)
- Harass, intimidate
- Control finances
- Endanger the family budget by spending excessively
- Lie
- Throw tantrums in public or in private