What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviors used to establish power and control over an intimate partner, often leading to the threat or use of violence. Domestic violence includes physical, sexual, emotional, or financial abuse. Partners may be: married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or dating. Domestic violence occurs in all socioeconomic classes, racial and ethnic groups, age groups, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, and educational backgrounds.

Are You Being Abused?
Abusers use many tactics ranging from subtle intimidation to serious injury and even death to control their partners. Below are descriptions of common tactics of abusers.

Physical Abuse

• Shoving, hitting, pushing, kicking or punching
• Strangling, biting, hair pulling, twisting arms
• Assaulting with weapons
• Throwing objects, burning
• Locking the partner out of the home
• Attacking or killing pets

Emotional/Psychological Abuse

• Manipulating, intimidating, humiliating
• Name calling, put downs, threatening, blaming
• Controlling behavior, jealousy or possessiveness
• Isolating the partner from friends or family
• Preventing the partner from using the telephone
• Ridiculing or insulting the partner’s beliefs
• Threatening harm to self or suicide

Financial/Economic Abuse

• Misusing, stealing or extorting the partner’s financial resources
• Destroying the partner’s property or possessions
• Preventing the partner from working
• Taking the partner’s important papers or documents
• Controlling partner’s access to financial assets
• Ruining the partner’s credit

Sexual Abuse

• Pressuring, coercing or forcing sexual activity
• Pressuring pregnancy or abortion
• Calling the partner sexually degrading names 

Other Examples of Abusive Behaviors

• Harming/kidnapping or threatening to harm/kidnap children
• Using children to monitor partner’s activities
• Forcing children to witness or take part in violence
• Going to the survivor’s home or place of employment
• Repeated unwanted contacts
• Vandalism
• Using the internet to track communications, activities, or financial information
• Threatening members of the survivor’s support system