Defining Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse, or intimate partner violence (IPV), is a serious issue that affects people all over the world.
Domestic abuse manifests itself in many forms. While physical abuse may be more obvious, other forms of domestic abuse include verbal, psychological, and sexual. Additionally, there is frequently a co-morbid occurrence of violence with the other various forms of abuse. Often abuse can start small and build up to much harsher types or more consistent usage of abuse. Below are examples of different types of abuse under the four categories of abuse: physical, verbal, psychological, and sexual.
Types of physical abuse include:
Types of verbal abuse include:
Types of psychological abuse include:
Types of sexual abuse
Domestic abuse manifests itself in many forms. While physical abuse may be more obvious, other forms of domestic abuse include verbal, psychological, and sexual. Additionally, there is frequently a co-morbid occurrence of violence with the other various forms of abuse. Often abuse can start small and build up to much harsher types or more consistent usage of abuse. Below are examples of different types of abuse under the four categories of abuse: physical, verbal, psychological, and sexual.
Types of physical abuse include:
- pushing, pulling, kicking, punching, choking, hitting, slapping, use of weapons or other objects for violent acts
Types of verbal abuse include:
- yelling, insulting, making hostile jokes, threats to violence of any kind, making constant demands, blaming others for mistakes
Types of psychological abuse include:
- controlling behaviors, causing isolation from social support or friends, creating jealousy, humiliating someone, ignoring opinions or feelings, withholding approval as punishment, as well as many forms of verbal abuse listed above
Types of sexual abuse
- forcing intercourse or sexual contact of any kind, using sex as a reward or punishment, sexual fondling, rape, as well as being manipulated or coerced into sexual acts or behaviors.