Emotional/Psychological Abuse

Emotional or psychological abuse involves any behavior, verbal or non-verbal, that negatively impacts another person's emotional or psychological well-being. Examples include:

• Name-calling, mocking, yelling, swearing
• Making humiliating remarks or gestures
• Telling you what to do, where you can and cannot go, or monitoring your activities
• Putting you down in front of other people
• Saying negative things about or preventing you from seeing your friends and family
• Cheating or being overly jealous
• Shifting responsibility for abusive behavior by blaming others or saying you caused it

Economic Abuse

When money becomes a tool by which the abuser can further control the victim, economic abuse is occurring. Examples of economic abuse include:

• Denying you all access to funds
• Having to account for every penny spent
• Putting all bills in your name
• Demanding your paychecks
• Interfering with your work or not letting you work
• Taking your car keys or otherwise preventing you from using the car

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is the easiest to recognize and understand than other types of abuse. Physical abuse is:

• Scratching, biting, grabbing, or spitting
• Shoving, pushing, slapping, or punching
• Throwing objects or destroying possessions or treasured objects
• Refusing to help you when you are sick, injured, pregnant, or if you are physically disabled
• Threatening or attacking with a weapon
• Stabbing, burning, or strangling
• Attempting to kill you

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse can be defined as any sexual encounter without consent and includes the following:

• Being forced to participate in unwanted, unsafe or degrading sexual activities
• Denying you contraception or protection against sexually transmitted diseases
• Sexual exploitation through photography or prostitution

Abuse in Later Life

Abuse in later life occurs when an older person is subjected to a pattern of coercive behaviors used to gain and maintain power and control. It is most often perpetrated by a family member or someone with whom the elder has an ongoing relationship. This type of abuse is characterized by:

• Emotional and psychological abuse
• Threats of physical violence or abandonment
• Isolation from family and friends
• Financial exploitation
• Denial of healthcare access

While women of all ages face similar issues when trying to leave an abuser, older women face additional, unique challenges. Many of these women grew up and married during a time when domestic abuse was often ignored. Now, at an older age, they have suffered many years of abuse and may have developed a poor self-image and feelings of shame. Additionally:

• An older woman who has been abused is less likely to tell anyone about it
• She may be facing health problems that keep her dependent on her abuser
• She may feel obligated and/or committed to caring for her abusive aging partner
• She may be afraid of being alone

Teen Dating Violence

Dating abuse is reported more often by teens than by other age groups. In fact, 62% of 11- to 14-year-olds who have been in a relationship know friends who had been verbally abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend, according to a 2008 study by Liz Claiborne, Inc. To learn more about Teen Dating Violence, click here.

If you are involved in a relationship where you are being hurt or abused, remember that you are not alone, it is not your fault, and help is available. Call the CHOICES 24-hour hotline at (614) 224-4663.