Statistics

• Domestic violence is the single most common source of injury to women.
• By age 20, 1 in 3 young women will experience dating violence.
  (Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines on Domestic Violence)
• 80-90% of children are aware of the domestic violence in their families.
  (Hart, Barbara, 2000. Children of Domestic Violence: Risks and Remedies)
• 80% of runaways come from homes where there is domestic violence.

Does your partner…

Hit you • Shove or push you • Restrain you, not allow you to leave • Throw objects or destroy property • Bite, kick or pinch • Attempt to strangle you • Threaten you with weapons • Excessive tickling

Play mind games • Isolate you from family and friends • Use the “silent treatment” • Accuse you of lying, cheating, etc. • Harm or threaten to harm your pets • Withhold money or sabotage your employment • Tell you how to think or feel

Call you names • Put you down • Blame you for problems • Use a threatening tone of voice • Degrade you • Interrogate you about where you have been, who you have been with, etc.

Force you to have sex • Withhold sex as a means of “punishment” • Touch you in an unwelcome and uncomfortable way • Act jealous and possessive • Laugh and make fun of your body

Cycle of Violence

There is a distinct three phase cycle in abusive relationships. The cycle is kept going by a combination of emotions including love, hope, fear and denial that give the abuser power and control over the relationship.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE   •   RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT   •   CHILD SERVICES
CROSSROADS   •   ABUSE INTERVENTION