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Together we can respond immediately to stop the cycle of domestic violence, child abuse and homelessness and connect families, children and individuals to crucial resources that empower them to renew their lives.
Know the Signs
(Domestic Violence)
Signs of domestic violence can be difficult to recognize because of its diverse forms. Here is a way to help identify abuse.
What are common signs your partner is being abusive in a relationship?
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Keeps you from seeing or contacting your family and friends
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Takes and controls money, including refusing to give you money and how it’s spent
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Insults, shames you, or puts you down
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Controls all aspects of your life, including what you do, what you wear, and where you go
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Has unrealistic expectations, such as a partner has to be available at all times
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Threatens to take away or hurt your children
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Threatens to hurt or kill pets
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Denies abuse is happening or downplays it as a problem
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Plays mind games and places blame
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Destroys property
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Forces you to use drugs or alcohol
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Intimidates you with guns, knives, or other weapons
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Shoves, slaps, chokes, and/or hits you
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Forces sexual acts on you against your will
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Threatens to commit suicide
What are some common signs of each type of abuse?
Any of these signs should alarm you that a relationship is abusive. A perpetrator does not need to use all of these actions to be an abuser—even one of these behaviors is a sign of domestic violence.
Physical abuse
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Hitting you
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Slapping, shoving, grabbing, pinching, biting, and pulling hair
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Choking you or trying to suffocate you
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Stopping you from getting medical care
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Using weapons
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Forcing you to use alcohol or drugs
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Driving dangerously while you are in the car
Sexual abuse
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Holding you down during sex
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Forcing you to have sex or making you do other sexual acts you don’t want to do
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Forcing you to have sex after hurting you or when you are sick or tired
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Calling you sexual names or forcing you to dress in a certain way
Emotional abuse
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Name-calling or insulting you
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Acting jealous and not trusting you
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Humiliating you
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Making you question your perception of reality within a relationship by using terms like “That never happened” or “It’s all in your head”
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Cheating on you repeatedly and then blaming you for it
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Damaging your relationships with your children
Economic abuse
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Withholding access to your money
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Refusing to let you go to work or school
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Forcing you to mount up debt to hurt your credit
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Refusing you to use money on necessities like food and medical care
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Preventing you from viewing bank accounts
Psychological abuse
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Intimidating you
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Isolating you from other people
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Threatening to harm people you care about
Digital abuse
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Controls your passwords
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Searches your phone often, including texts and calls
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Monitors you with any technology, such as a GPS
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Insults you in social media status updates
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Prevents you from deciding who can and cannot be your friends or followers on social media
*Above information from joyfulheartfoundation.org
Statistics:
Domestic violence spans gender, age, sexual orientation, and religion, and it affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.
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In the U.S., over 1 in 3 women experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. 1
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In the U.S., about 1 in 3 men experienced sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime. 1
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10% of women and 2.2% of men report having been stalked by an intimate partner. 1
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Data from US crime reports suggest that 16% (about 1 in 6) homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner. Nearly half of female homicide victims in the US are killed by a current or former male intimate partner. 2
Sources:
1. Smith, S.G., Zhang, X., Basile, K.C., Merrick, M.T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M., Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. Cooper, A., & Smith, E. L. (2011). Homicide trends in the United States, 1980–2008. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics. NCJ 236018. 6. Petrosky, E., Blair, J. M., Betz, C. J., Fowler, K. A., Jack, S., & Lyons, B. H. (2017). Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult Women and the Role of Intimate Partner Violence - United States, 2003-2014. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly rep

You are not alone.
There are resources available for you.
National Child Abuse Hotline
1.800.422.4453
www.childhelp.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1.800.799.7233
www.thehotline.org
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
1.800.656.4673
www.rainn.org
National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline
1.866.331.9474
www.loveisrespect.org
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1.800.273.8255
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org