What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence) can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, orientation, socio-economic status, or other factors.
Domestic violence is a range of behaviors used to establish power or exert control by one intimate partner over the other. The range of behaviors can include psychological, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial, spiritual, and physical abuse, as well as stalking and threatening behaviors.
Types of Abuse
The following are common types of abuse and examples of abusive behaviors. This list is not exhaustive. If your partner is exerting power or control over you, you may be experiencing domestic violence.
Physical abuse
Slapping, hitting, kicking, choking, grabbing, pinching, shoving, punching, and the use of weapons.
Sexual abuse
Any coerced or forced sexual contact, undermining a person’s sexuality, unprotected sex, and rape.
Verbal abuse
Name-calling, insults, put-downs, threats, belittling, severe criticism.
Psychological abuse
Intimidation, isolation from family and friends, destroying possessions or treasured objects, threatening to hurt or abuse pets, controlling someone’s behavior.
Stalking
Calling, following, harassing, spying on, leaving messages, unwanted e-mails and phone calls.
Economic abuse
Attempts to make someone financially dependent, withholding money, keeping someone from work or school, harassing someone at work, controlling income, requiring justification for money spent, excessive gambling, refusing to pay bills/creditors, ruining credit.
Legal abuse
Dragging out legal/custody proceedings, refusing to pay support or alimony, withholding assets, fighting for custody solely to maintaining control over the victim’s whereabouts.
Spiritual abuse
Using religious or spiritual beliefs to manipulate someone, preventing the partner from practicing their religious or spiritual beliefs, ridiculing the other person’s religious or spiritual beliefs, forcing the children to be reared in a faith that the partner has not agreed to.
More about the cycle of abuse
Abuse may occur frequently or infrequently, but in most cases it tends to escalate over time. Without intervention, domestic violence generally increases, and can lead to serious injuries and death.
Abuse and violence are learned behaviors, and as such, can be unlearned. People who are abusive are responsible for their behavior and should be held accountable for their actions by the legal and judicial systems, media, friends, family, co-workers and communities.
The Power & Control Wheel
Why was the Power and Control Wheel created?
"In 1984, staff at the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP) began developing curricula for groups for men who batter and victims of domestic violence. We wanted a way to describe battering for victims, offenders, practitioners in the criminal justice system and the general public. Over several months, we convened focus groups of women who had been battered. We listened to heart-wrenching stories of violence, terror and survival. After listening to these stories and asking questions, we documented the most common abusive behaviors or tactics that were used against these women. The tactics chosen for the wheel were those that were most universally experienced by battered women" (Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs - Power and Control Wheel).
Power & Control Wheel