In legal terms, domestic violence is defined as abuse committed against an adult or fully emancipated minor who is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or a person with whom the perpetrator has had a child, a dating or an engagement relationship.

At Women In Distress of Broward County, we use the terms battering, abuse and violence interchangeably. Battering is the use or threat to use physical, sexual, or verbal behavior to coerce the partner into doing something one wants -- to degrade or humiliate; to gain or maintain a sense of power or control. Abusive behaviors may include subtle harm as well as life-threatening acts of violence. Abusive behaviors create an atmosphere of intimidation in a relationship.

Several kinds of abuse can constitute battering in relationships, and each kind can take many different forms. Our society is so tolerant of abusive behavior that we often do not even recognize some behavior as abusive. Some of the kinds of battering include:

Emotional Abuse:  

Name calling…Insulting…Humiliation…Criticizing…Blaming… Accusing… Questioning your sanity… Making fun of you… Intense jealousy… Destroying property… Threatening… Retaliation… Not permitting you to make any important decisions… Forcing you to do something against your will… Threatening your pets… Not permitting you to have contact with friends or family… Not letting you leave the house… Not letting you work or go to school… Not letting you drive the car… Monitoring your movements… Threatening to kidnap the children if you ever leave… Threatening self-abuse or suicide if you don’t do what (s)he wants… Saying that you deserve any abuse you are given.

Sexual Abuse:

Unwanted touching… Withholding sex or demanding frequent sex… Name-calling of sexual epithets such as "whore," "slut," "frigid," etc.… Incest… Obvious promiscuity… Uncomfortable sex… Forceful sex… Sex after beatings… Sex with weapons… Marital rape.

Economic Abuse: 

Refusing to work or to be responsible for financial affairs… Not allowing you to know about family finances… Making you ask for money… Keeping you in poverty… Not allowing you to have your own checkbook… Not paying alimony or child support when able.

Physical Abuse:

Pushing… Pinching… Slapping… Backing you into a corner… Pinning you down… Pulling your hair… Throwing objects… Choking… Shaking you… Biting… Holding you captive… Preventing you from eating or sleeping… Breaking down a door to get to you… Locking you out of the house… Forcing your vehicle off the road… Abandoning you in dangerous places… Beating… Kicking… Keeping you from getting medical care… Spitting on you… Breaking bones… Using a knife, gun, or other weapon against you… Driving at unsafe speeds to intimidate you.

Battering results in hurt, anger, fear, and degradation. All batterers abuse their victims in order to gain control of them. Abuse intimidates the victimized partner, damages both self-confidence and one’s ability to evaluate one’s situation. Abuse inhibits the victim from taking action to protect oneself.

Back to Homepage