Symptoms Of Abuse
What symptoms below fit in your life?
Using Emotional Abuse
- Putting the other down
- Making the other feel bad about themselves<
- Calling the other names
- Making the other think they are crazy
- Playing mind games
- Humiliating the other
- Making the other feel guilty
Using Economic Abuse
- Preventing the other from getting or keeping a job
- Making the other ask for money
- Giving the other an allowance
- Taking the other's money
- Not letting the other know about or have access to family income
Using Intimidation
- Making the other afraid by using looks, gestures, or actions
- Smashing things
- Abusing pets
- Displaying weapons
Using Isolation
- Controlling what the other does, who they see and talk to, what's read, and where they go
- Limiting their outside involvement
- Using jealousy to justify actions
Using Privileges
- Treating the other like a servant
- Making all the big decisions
- Acting like the master of the castle
- Being the one who determines the roles
Using Coercion and Threats
- Making or carrying out threats to do something to hurt the other
- Threatening to leave the other, to commit suicide, report the other to Immigration
- Making the other drop charges
- Making the other do illegal things
Using Children
- Making the other feel guilty about the children
- Using the children to relay messages
- Using visitation to harass the other
- Threatening to take the children away
Minimising, Denying, Blaming
- Making light of the abuse and not taking the other's concerns about it seriously
- Saying the abuse never happened
- Shifting responsibility for abusive behaviour
- Saying the other caused it
Source: Caribbean Training Manual on Domestic Violence Intervention: Training Programme for Police Officers and other Front Line Professionals
Last Updated: 2005-03-07
