Domestic Violence is abuse committed against a person by someone related by marriage, a domestic partnership or someone with whom you are having or have had an intimate or dating relationship. Domestic abuse can be physical, mental, emotional, and sexual.
Physical Abuse – Physical abuse is when your date or your wife, husband, domestic partner, date or former intimate partner uses force against you such as hitting you, pushing you, knocking you down, choking you and any other way they can use their body or another object to hurt your body. If you use assistive devices or need their assistance to reach a telephone, they may remove the devices or put barriers in the way of your mobility.
Emotional and Psychological Abuse - Emotional abuse can be non-verbal or verbal. Your husband, wife, domestic partner, date or former intimate partner makes threats to hurt you, her-/himself, the children, the pets, service animals, report you to social services, says you won’t get visitation, or he/she will take the children, or will have you deported. Says everything is your fault, calls you names, put downs, isolates you from your family and friends, destroys your property.
Economic Abuse – If your current or former intimate partner prevents you from getting or keeping a job, controls all the money so you have to ask for it, takes your money, gives you an allowance, or doesn’t let you know about or have access to the family income.
Sexual Abuse – Your current or former intimate partner forces sex on you when you do not want it or forces you to perform sexual acts you do not want to do, even if you are married.
