What are the Warning Signs of Domestic Violence?
Not all forms of abuse come with visible warning signs. For example, it can be difficult to know when you’re experiencing emotional or psychological abuse. Below are some questions that may help.
Do you:
- Feel afraid of your partner much of the time?
- Avoid certain topics out of fear of angering your partner?
- Feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?
- Believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?
- Wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?
- Feel emotionally numb or helpless?
Does your partner:
- Humiliate, criticize, or yell at you?
- Treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see it?
- Ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?
- Have a bad and unpredictable temper?
- Destroy your belongings?
- Act excessively jealous and possessive?
- Constantly check up on you?
- Control where you go or what you do?
- Keep you from seeing your friends or family?
- Limit your access to money, the phone, or the car?
- Blame you for his own abusive behavior?
- See you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?
- Force you to have sex?
- Hurt you, or threaten to hurt or kill you?
- Threaten to take your children away or harm them?
- Threaten to commit suicide if you leave?
