Abuse takes many forms
- Physical abuse: hitting, restraining, choking, or other physical harm.
- Emotional and psychological abuse: humiliation, degrading criticism, manipulation, or undermining your sense of reality.
- Sexual abuse: pressure, coercion, or sexual contact without freely given consent, including within a relationship.
- Financial abuse: restricting access to money, preventing employment, or creating debt without consent.
- Coercive control: an ongoing pattern of intimidation, monitoring, restrictions, and demands used to dominate another person.
- Threats and intimidation: threats against you, children, pets, other loved ones, or your identity and livelihood.
- Stalking and technology-facilitated abuse: unwanted contact, tracking, account access, or monitoring devices.
- Isolation: restricting relationships, transportation, community connections, or access to support.
Conflict is not the same as coercive control
People can disagree without creating fear or taking away someone else's choices. Abuse involves power, control, coercion, or harm. It is not simply poor communication, mutual disagreement, or an anger-management problem.
No survivor causes someone else's abuse. Pressure, substance use, jealousy, or emotional distress do not excuse harmful conduct.
You do not have to make sense of it alone
A trained advocate can listen and help you consider your circumstances, safety, and available resources. Use a safer device if you are concerned about monitoring. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Support, at your own pace
Survivors are never responsible for managing, correcting, treating, or changing the behavior of someone who abuses them. Support does not depend on staying, reconciling, or participating in joint education.