DOMESTIC ABUSE CAN BE EMOTIONAL, SEXUAL, FINANCIAL OR PHYSICAL
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UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE

People often think of domestic abuse/violence only in terms of black eyes and bruises that can be seen. In reality, domestic abuse is a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviours that abusers  use to control their intimate partners. As adaptive and resilient as they are, women who have been abused  nevertheless face a daunting number of barriers to escaping the violence. In addition to the very real threat of harm or death to themselves or their children, victims must contend with the accompanying financial and emotional hardship.

 


People who have never experienced abuse often find it difficult to imagine why women don’t leave and how the abuse can continue for years. Relationships almost never start out abusive. It is important to remember that love and intimacy precede the abuse, which can make it difficult to break away. Abusive relationships are not violent all the time. There are periods when a woman is reminded why she fell in love with her partner. Abusers effectively weave together intimacy and abuse to control their partners.

 

Women who have been abused sometimes express confusion about the recurring nature of the abuse they experience in their relationship. It can be extremely unpredictable and impulsive. Domestic abuse, however, is neither random nor haphazard. It is a complex pattern of increasingly frequent and harmful physical, sexual, emotional and other abusive behaviors used to control the victim.