Different Types of Domestic Violence
Annually, domestic abuse impacts 10 million individuals, affecting both women and men. This equates to 20 people every minute experiencing domestic violence within the United States. Abusers tend to follow a specific pattern known as the vicious cycle when perpetrating domestic abuse against their partners.
The vicious cycle usually starts with your abuser deciding that they will do something physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, or spiritually damaging to you. Then, they act on the impulse and perform the abuse. For example, your significant other might think about hitting you for whatever reason (it could be because they are mad or just want control over you), then they will hit you. Afterward, they pretend like nothing ever happened and go back to living an everyday life until it happens again. And the cycle repeats in a never-ending loop. Thankfully, you can go to places where you can tell skilled professionals about the abuse you are going through, and they will help you find a safe place to go. You can always call 911 in a highly stressful and abusive situation when in doubt.
You may be interested to know more about what you or a friend may be going through.
Let’s take a deeper look at the different types of abuse people can encounter. A way to get help if you are experiencing domestic abuse is to hire a domestic violence lawyer in Fort Lauderdale. A skilled lawyer can help you get the justice you deserve and help you find refuge from the situation.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse has to do with someone hitting you with their hands or hurting you with another foreign object. Types of physical abuse can include someone hitting, slapping, punching, choking, kicking, or holding you down against your will. For example, if you are out with your significant other at a public place and they decide to hit you somewhere, this can be seen as a form of domestic abuse. If you experience this form of abuse, you should call someone you trust for help.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse has to do with someone performing sexual acts on you that are unwarranted. Types of sexual acts can be sex, oral sex, kissing, and manual stimulation. If your significant other is performing these activities with you, but you did not agree to these activities, then this can be a type of sexual abuse. Sex without your partner’s consent is rape and needs to be reported to the authorities. If you experience domestic abuse, please call someone you trust and get to a safe place.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse is when your significant other uses words to make you feel inferior or less than you truly are. They may say hurtful things like, “you are fat” or “you are pathetic,” making you feel worthless or bad about yourself. These words can overwhelm you with emotions of sadness or depression, or anger towards yourself or them. If you are experiencing this, you do not deserve to be treated poorly and misspoken words from your significant other; call someone you trust or get expert advice on how you should handle the situation, like from a therapist.
Financial Abuse
Financial abuse is when your partner abuses their control over the shared money. For example, your partner could decide to spend your shared money on gambling addiction when that money is meant to pay your bills. Another way that financial abuse can happen is when only one significant other works but decides to control the money they make, making it impossible for their significant other to buy things they may need, like food or clothes. This type of financial abuse can get even worse if children are involved. Again, if you are experiencing this type of abuse, please talk to someone you trust and get the help you need.
Cultural Abuse
Cultural abuse has to do with someone not being accepting of your race, culture, or LGBTQIA status. Cultural abuse can be someone using hateful language towards your particular race or culture. For example, if your significant other decides to be mean because you choose to wear a hijab, this is cultural abuse. Another example would be if you confide in your significant other and tell them that you like your same-sex, and they threaten to tell your family and friends before you can. If you are experiencing this type of domestic abuse in your relationship, please seek the help you need by talking to someone you trust.
