Warning Signs
You may be in an abusive relationship if your partner exhibits one or more of the following:
Destructive criticism/Verbal Abuse:
Name-calling, mocking, accusing, blaming, yelling.
Assuming Authority:
Always claiming to be right, telling you what to do, making all decisions.
Disrespect:
Interrupting, changing topics, not listening or responding, putting you down in front of others, saying bad things about your friends or family, extreme jealousy.
Minimizing/Denying/Blaming:
Making light of their abusive behaviour and not taking your concerns about it seriously, saying the abuse didn’t happen, shifting responsibility for behaviour – saying you caused it.
Economic Control:
Refusing to give you money or taking your money, not letting you work or use the car.
Self-Destructive Behaviour:
Abusing drugs or alcohol, gambling, threatening suicide or other forms of self-harm.
Isolation:
Preventing you from seeing friends and relatives, monitoring phone calls, telling you where you can and cannot go.
Harassment:
Making uninvited calls or visits, following you, checking up on you, embarrassing you in public, refusing to leave when asked.
Intimidation:
Making angry or threatening gestures, use of physical size to intimidate, out shouting at you, driving recklessly.
Destruction:
Destroying your possessions, punching walls, throwing and breaking things.
Threats:
Making or carrying out threats to hurt you or others.
Sexual Violence:
Degrading treatment based on your gender or sexual orientation, using force or threats to perform sexual acts, unwanted sexual behaviour.
Physical Violence:
Slapping, punching, grabbing, kicking, choking, pushing, burning, spitting, biting you, your children, your pets or others.