According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, domestic violence is when one person in a relationship hurts, scares, or controls the other person.
It can happen in different ways like hitting or hurting someone physically, making them feel bad about themselves, controlling their money, or scaring them with technology. This kind of behavior is not okay and can really hurt someone's feelings and make them feel unsafe.
Some examples of
abusive behavior
include...
Physical abuse is when someone hits, slaps, shoves, grabs, pinches, bites, pulls hair or does other hurtful things to another person.
It can also be physical abuse if someone stops their partner from getting medical care or makes them use drugs or alcohol against their will.
Emotional Abuse is when someone is putting someone down and making them feel worthless. They often hurt the person's feelings and make them feel bad about themselves.
This can be things like always saying they are wrong, putting down their skills, calling them names, or making trouble between them and their kids.
Stopping or controlling someone from getting, using, or keeping money and things they
are supposed
to have.
This can mean using tricks, lies,
or threats to stop
a person from accessing their money, belongings, credit cards, or financial details.
Psychological abuse includes actions like scaring or intimidating someone with threats of hurting themselves or others.
Forcing Isolation from family, friends, school and/or work.
It could also be threats of harming pets or damaging property.
When someone uses technology
to hurt, scare, control, follow, bother, pretend
to be, take advantage of, blackmail, or watch another person.
This can happen with things like
the internet, computers, phones, cameras, apps that track where you are,
and other tech gadgets.
Sexual abuse is any unwanted sexual contact or behavior.
If someone innapropriately touches you or makes you feel uncomfortable
in a way that's
not okay.
If this happens to your or somone you know, talk
to a trusted adult right away.
Domestic violence can happen to anyone, no matter their race, age, or who they love. It affects people from all different backgrounds and education levels. It can happen to people who are married, living together, dating, or have a child together.
This talk about domestic violence is meant to teach people about how abuse happens in close relationships. It also aims to help victims understand what
they are going through.
It also explains how to
spot signs of abuse in
their loved ones'
relationships.
National Domestic Violence Hotline - www.thehotline.org
U.S. Department of Justice
- www.justice.gov/ovw
Love Is Respect
- www.loveisrespect.org
Break The Cycle
- www.breakthecycle.org
Domestic Abuse & Sexual Assault Intervention Services (DASI)
- www.dasi.org
1800-Runaway
- www.1800runaway.org