ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 1: Domestic violence
8
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Financial abuse in relationships
against women also lasts for a
longer period of time compared
to men.
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Women are also more likely to
experience financial abuse in
multiple relationships and post-
separation.
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Women experiencing financial
abuse in relationships were
more likely to be heterosexual
and living as married, with the
highest prevalence of financial
abuse occurring amongst full-
time working women and women
working part-time.
As women are the most affected
group, and the research shows they
are the least likely to contact their
bank for help, breaking down the
barriers to enable a woman to access
support from her bank is a key part of
the campaign.
Overall, the report shows that while
the majority of people experiencing
this type of abuse are in heterosexual
relationships, people in same-sex or
bi-sexual relationships were more
likely to be victims of financial abuse
than the rest of the population. In
addition, those with a disability
were also more likely to be victims
of financial abuse in an intimate
relationship.
If you are experiencing
domestic violence:
The Freephone 24-hour Domestic
ViolenceHelpline, run inpartnershipby
Refuge and Women’s Aid, offers a 24-
hour confidential helpline for women
who are experiencing domestic
violence. It provides emotional and
practical support, including referrals
to refuges and other local services:
0808 2000 247.
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The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from Refuge. Please visit
for further
information.
© Refuge 2016
30 signs of emotional
abuse in a relationship
By Barrie Davenport
N
othing is more damaging to
your confidence and self-
esteem than being in an
emotionally abusive relationship.
Unlike physical abuse which rears
its ugly head in dramatic outbursts,
emotional abuse can be more
insidious and elusive. In some cases,
neither the abuser nor the victim are
fully aware it’s happening.
The most obvious scenario for
emotional abuse is in an intimate
relationship in which a man is the
abuser and the woman is the victim.
However, a variety of studies show
that men and women abuse each
other at equal rates. In fact, emotional
abuse can occur in any relationship
– between parent and child, in
friendships and with relatives.
Sowhat is emotional abuse? It involves
a regular pattern of verbal offence,
threatening, bullying and constant
criticism, as well as more subtle
tactics like intimidation, shaming
and manipulation. Emotional abuse
is used to control and subjugate the
other person, and quite often it occurs
because the abuser has childhood
wounds and insecurities they haven’t
dealt with – perhaps as a result of
being abused themselves. They didn’t
learn healthy coping mechanisms
or how to have positive, healthy
relationships. Instead, they feel angry,
hurt, fearful and powerless.
Male and female abusers tend to have
high rates of personality disorders
including borderline personality
disorder, narcissistic personality
disorder and antisocial personality
disorder. Although emotional abuse
doesn’t always lead to physical
abuse, physical abuse is almost
always preceded and accompanied
by emotional abuse.
The victim of the abuse quite often
doesn’t see the mistreatment as
abusive. They develop coping
mechanisms
of
denial
and
minimising in order to deal with the
stress. But the effects of long-term
emotional abuse can cause severe
emotional trauma in the victim,
including depression, anxiety and
post-traumatic stress disorder.
If you aren’t sure what constitutes
this damaging behaviour, here are
30 signs of emotional abuse:
1.
They humiliate you, put you
down or make fun of you in front
of other people.
2.
They regularly demean or
disregard your opinions, ideas,
suggestions or needs.
3.
They use sarcasm or ‘teasing’
to put you down or make you
feel bad about yourself.
4.
They accuse you of being ‘too
sensitive’ in order to deflect their
abusive remarks.
