If anybody threatens, causes, or attempts to cause harm to you – it is a crime. This type of crime includes physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse. These forms of abuse are used by abusers to control their partners and the relationship. The following are a list of tactics used by abusers:
- Intimidation – Making you afraid by using looks, actions, gestures, smashing objects, destroying your property, abusing pets, displaying weapons.
- Emotional Abuse – Putting your down, making you feel bad about yourself, calling you names, making you think you are crazy, playing mind games, humiliating you.
- Isolation – Controlling what you do, who you see and talk to, what you read, where you go, limiting your outside involvement, using jealousy to justify his/her actions.
- Minimising Denying and Blaming – Making light of the abuse and not taking your concerns seriously, saying the abuse did not happen, shifting responsibility for abusive behaviour, saying that you caused it.
- Financial Abuse – Preventing you from getting or keeping a job, making you ask for money, giving you an allowance, taking your money, not letting your know about, or have access to income.
- Manipulation – Making threats to do something to hurt you, your family or friends, treating to leave you, to commit suicide, to report you to Welfare, making you drop charges, making you do illegal things.