04/03/2026
🆘Forms of Domestic Abuse 🆘
Many women are not even aware that they are in an abusive relationship or that what they are experiencing is ABUSE.
Domestic abuse is not only physical violence ❌
It can take many different forms, many of which leave no visible scars.
Knowing these forms helps us recognise abuse that often remains hidden.
❌Physical abuse
Any use of physical force against another person: hitting, pushing, kicking, strangling, burning, throwing objects, or using weapons.
❌Psychological/emotional abuse
Behaviour that destroys a person’s self-esteem and psychological stability: humiliation, constant criticism, threats, gaslighting, blaming, intimidation, or manipulation.
❌Verbal abuse
Insults, name-calling, shouting, degrading remarks, or constant criticism aimed at undermining the person.
❌Financial/economic abuse
Control over another person’s finances: preventing someone from working, withholding money, controlling spending, forcing financial dependence, or leaving debts in the partner’s name.
❌Sexual abuse
Any form of s*xual coercion or pressure: forced s*x, s*xual humiliation, reproductive coercion, forced pregnancy, or forced abortion.
❌Social abuse/isolation
Separating a person from friends, family, or community; controlling where they go, who they see, and who they are allowed to talk to.
❌Technological/digital abuse
Monitoring phones, controlling social media, installing spyware on devices, checking messages, or sharing intimate images without consent.
❌Coercive control
A pattern of behaviour aimed at dominating another person’s life: controlling clothing, movements, relationships, daily activities, or access to money.
❌Manipulative abuse
Control through guilt, shame, the victim role, silent treatment, emotional blackmail, or threats of self-harm or su***de.
❌Legal abuse (litigation abuse)
Using the legal system or court processes as a tool to intimidate, exhaust, or control a partner or ex-partner.
❌Post-separation abuse
Harassment, stalking, threats, financial pressure, or manipulation through children, even after the relationship has ended.
❌Abuse through children
Using children as tools of control: threatening to take them away, using them to pass messages, or manipulating custody and visitation.
❌Cultural forms of abuse
Forced marriage, so-called “honour-based” violence, female ge***al mutilation, or other cultural practices that violate a person’s freedom and safety.
❌Reproductive abuse
Control over reproductive decisions: pressure to become pregnant, preventing contraception, forcing abortion, or forcing pregnancy.
❌Medical abuse
Preventing someone from accessing healthcare, withholding medication, or controlling medical treatment.
❌Spiritual/religious abuse
Using religion or spiritual beliefs to control, intimidate, or justify abusive behaviour.
Domestic abuse is always about power and control.
And very often, it begins long before the first physical act of violence.
