Types of domestic abuse
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
Emotional or psychological abuse
Emotional or psychological abuse can be verbal or non-verbal. Its aim is to chip away at the confidence and independence of victims with the intention of making them compliant and limiting their ability to leave. Emotional abuse includes verbal abuse such as yelling, name-calling, blaming and shaming, isolation, intimidation, threats of violence and controlling behaviour.
Many abused women define the psychological effects of domestic abuse as having a ‘more profound’ effect on their lives – even where there has been life-threatening or disabling physical violence. Despite this, there is almost always pressure to define domestic abuse in terms of actual, or threatened, physical violence.
Physical abuse
There are a broad range of behaviours that come under the heading of physical abuse, including actions such as punching, slapping, hitting, biting, pinching, kicking, pulling hair out, pushing, shoving, burning and strangling. It should be noted tha...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
