Did you know that almost 3 million people suffer from domestic abuse each year?
These terrible numbers show how important it is that we be prepared to fight against domestic violence, in our lives and in the lives of those we know. To solve a problem, it is important to first understand it.
There are many types of domestic abuse, and not everyone knows about all of them. Even victims of abuse may not realize that they are being abused. Learning how to recognize abuse and label it can help people take steps to fight back.
Read on to learn about different kinds of domestic abuse.
Types of Domestic Abuse
Physical abuse is the first kind of domestic violence, and for some people, it’s the only one. Physical abuse is the easiest kind of violence to detect, and it leaves the most obvious signs.
1. Physical Abuse
However, it’s important to remember that even physical abuse is often not obvious. Abusers often take care to avoid leaving obvious marks for other people to notice. Victims sometimes make excuses for violence or lie about it.
As with all other kinds of abuse, it’s important to call physical abuse what it is, and help people to escape from it.
2. Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse includes the use of pressure or force to influence a victim to engage in undesirable sexual behavior. This can include having sex at all, or it can include unprotected sex, or specific undesired sex acts.
3. Economic Abuse
Economic abuse refers to the use of financial influence to limit a victim’s freedom or safety.
4. Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse is the use of words to lower the confidence of a victim through criticism or demeaning language.
5. Spiritual Abuse
Spiritual abuse is when an abuser forces their partner or their shared children to engage in religious practices against their partner’s will.
Root Causes of Domestic Violence
There is no exact single cause of domestic violence. It’s also worth noting that while about 2 million women are victims of domestic abuse, about 800,000 men are also victims. Some of those male victims are abused by other men they are in homosexual relationships with.
While men are the most likely perpetrators of violence, many men and women are abused by female partners instead.
In general, perpetrators of domestic violence are more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol. Impoverished and unemployed men are also more likely to commit violence.
Whatever the cause, it’s important that people protect themselves and each other from those who inflict violence.
Effects of domestic abuse
Victims of domestic violence can easily develop psychological disorders like depression and anxiety. Domestic abuse information shows that abused women are also more likely to deliver low-birth-weight children. Children of homes with domestic violence are more likely to grow up to commit violence themselves.
Learn How to Deal With the Forms of Domestic Violence
We hope you learned something helpful about the types of domestic abuse in this brief piece. To learn more about your rights and how the law can help protect and fight for justice for you, check out our other pages.