Are You in an Abusive Relationship?

Warning Signs for Victim

• You are not free to come and go as you wish
• You or your children are emotionally deprived
• You are verbally attacked or ridiculed
• You are slapped, kicked, shoved, or threatened with a weapon
• You are forbidden to have contact with friends and family
• You are forced to have sex against your will
• Your economic resources are restricted

Men Who Batter

Society teaches men to control their relationships with women.  Violence or the threat of using it is a way that batterers achieve power and control over their female partners.  Unchallenged, men who batter come to learn that violence is an acceptable and effective way to resolve problems.

• Men who batter come from all classes, races, religions, and income and educational levels.
• Many batterers are not violent in other relationships, such as at work or with friends.
• Many abusers have a rigid, traditional view of sex roles and parenting.
• Batterers are more focused on their own needs than on the pain or fear that their violence causes their victims.
• The majority of men who batter are not mentally ill.  Viewing batterers as "sick" wrongly excuses them from taking responsibility for their actions.
• Alcoholism or drug abuse does not cause battering.  Intoxication may only intensify an already existing violent behavior.
• Batterers characteristically deny the existence and severity of their violence.  When confronted with their abusive behavior, they tend to blame their partner for provoking it or refuse to accept responsibility for it.
• Batterers will continue to abuse their female partners until society condemns their behavior and ensures immediate and serious consequences for their actions.

Family Violence Defined

Family violence is an act of assault or coercive control toward another person in a family, household, or intimate relationship that may be in the form of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, isolation, or economic deprivation.  Power and control over another person are the root causes of domestic violence.

Family Violence Facts

• Family violence is the leading cause of injury to women age 15 to 44.
• Children who witness violence at home are more likely to become abusers.
• Approximately 1.5 million women are assaulted by an intimate partner each year in the United States .

Women are victims of intimate violence and homicide significantly more than men. In 2000, intimate partner violence accounted for 22% of the violent crimes against women compared to 3% of the violent crimes against men.