Introduction:
The United States Department of Justice on violence against women defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship.
One partner uses abusive behavior to gain control over another intimate partner. The general public thinks of domestic violence as only a physical assault. However, it is much more than that.
Moreover, the victims of domestic violence may include any person regardless of socioeconomic background, education level, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender.
Domestic violence was referred to as wife abuse in the past.
However, the definition of domestic violence was changed. It is because only wives cannot be the victim of domestic violence.
Domestic violence today recognizes that victims can be Spouses, Dating/Intimate partners, Family members, Children, and Cohabitants.
Types of abuse:
There are different types of abuse involved in domestic violence. Each of them has its own consequences. They are important to know in order to identify domestic violence.
Let’s explore various factors below to understand domestic violence.
Control:
Controlling behavior is the way that the batterer uses to maintain dominance on the victim. This behavior includes various things such as monitoring phone calls, or other devices. In this behavior, they are often not allowed to make or receive calls.
Moreover, the victim is not allowed to choose their clothing style or hairstyle. In this behavior, the victim is forced to have some specific dressing style as more seductive or more conservative than they are comfortable. Controlling behavior of domestic violence also involves calling the victim or coming home unexpectedly.
It seems to be a loving gesture at fittest but becomes a sign of jealousy or possessiveness.
Controlling behavior does not allow the victim time and space of their own. In this behavior, the victim is encouraged or forced to believe that they are incapable of surviving or performing simple tasks. They are made dependent on their partner.
Furthermore, the children of the victim parent are also used as spies. The victim is threatened to kill, hurt, or kidnap their children in case the parent leaves the relationship. They also threaten them to call the Department of Child Safety (DCS, formerly CPS) if the parent leaves the relationship.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is defined by the ‘Amend Workbook for Ending Violence Behavior’ as physically aggressive behavior. This aggressive behavior withholds any physical needs of the victim. It also withholds an indirect physically harmful behavior or a threat of physical abuse. Physical abuse includes hitting, kicking, slapping, pushing, pulling, or beating the victim.
Physical abuse also includes scratching, pinching, or pulling hair. Various other behaviors such as stabbing, shooting, drowning, burning, hitting with an object, threatening with a weapon, or threatening to physical assault also come in the physical abuse.
Additionally, withholding of physical needs like the interruption of sleep or meals or denying money or food and transportation comes in physical needs. Sometimes, the victim is locked into or out of the house and denied help if sick or injured. The victim is abused or injured and sometimes threatened to injure others like children, pets, or any special property.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse means using sex exploitatively or forced sex. Sexual abuse includes both verbal and physical behavior. There are many behaviors; however, one of the most common behaviors involving sexual abuse is forcing the victim to have sex without his/her willingness. It may also include making the victim have sex with others or having unwanted sexual experiences. It also involves the victim in prostitution involuntarily.
Furthermore, sexual abuse involves the victim in sexual activity when the victim is asleep, intoxicated, drugged, disabled, too young, or old. Sexual abuse also involves laughing or making fun of the victim’s body or sexuality.
Additionally, in the sexual abuse, the abuser makes offensive comments or insults the victim.
Moreover, sexual abuse in domestic violence involves making contact with the victim in any non-consensual way.
For instance, unwanted penetration or touching the victim’s body or using objects on any part of the victim’s body.
In addition to them, exhibiting excessive jealousy of the abuser results in a false accusation of the victim. It may also result in controlling behavior that limits the victim’s contact with the outside world.
Emotional Abuse & Intimidation
Emotional abuse is defined as any behavior that exploits another’s vulnerability, insecurity, or character. The emotional abuse involves continuous degradation, intimidation, manipulation, brainwashing, or control of another to the detriment of the individual (AMEND 3).
The victim is insulted or criticized in many ways which result in undermining the victim’s self-confidence. The victim is threatened or accused directly or indirectly that causes emotional or physical harm or loss. For instance, the spouse threatens to kill the victim or themselves, or both of them.
The abuser uses the statements or behaviors that cause confusion and insecurity in the victim. It also involves behaviors like hiding the victim’s keys and berating them for losing them.
In the emotional abuse, the abuser consistently disregards, ignores, and neglects the victim’s requests and needs.
Emotional abuse involves the statements or gestures that attack the victim’s self-esteem and self-worth. The victim is told to be mentally unstable or incompetent. Emotional abuse involves forcing to take drugs or alcohol. The victim is not allowed to practice religious beliefs.
There is isolation from the religious community. Any form of coercion or manipulation is used to disempowering the victim.
Isolation
Isolation often closely connected to controlling behaviors. It is the outcome of many kinds of abusive behaviors. With the isolation form of abuse, the victim is being isolated from all the resources that may help him/her leave the relationship.
Isolation is a form of abuse that controls how the victim thinks or feels.
Being isolated socially, the batterer keeps the victim from contacting the world. Isolation often begins with the expressions of love like “If you love me, you will spend time with me and not with your parents.
Gradually, the isolation expands and the victim limits contact with anyone except the better. The victim may also feel guilty because of the batterer’s behavior, or the condition of the relationship.
Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse is any abusive language which is used to embarrass or threaten the victim. It involves threatening to hurt or kill the victim or their children, family, pets, property, or reputation.
The batterer abuses the victim by calling names like ugly, bitch, whore, or stupid. Verbal abuse also involves telling the victim that they are unattractive or undesirable. The batterer screams, terrorizes, or refuses to talk to the victim.
Economic Abuse
Economic Abuse is a way to control the victim through the manipulation of economic resources. Economic abuse means controlling the family income and not allowing the victim to have access to money. If the victim has access to the money, there is rigid access to the family funds.
Economic Abuse also involves hidden accounts. The victim is often not allowed to ask how money is spent. It may cause the victim to lose the job or preventing the victim from taking a job.
Psychological abuse
Psychological Abuse is a way of abusing the victim psychologically. In this type of abuse, the abuser invokes fear through intimidation. The abuser threatens the victim to physically hurt himself/herself, the victim, and the children. The Abuser also threatens the victim’s family or friends, or pets.
Not only these, but the abuser also tries to threaten the victim with regards to their property destruction, injuring the pets; isolating the victim from loved ones; and prohibiting the victim from going to school or work.
