The scariest part of all this? It can lead to death.

 

Verbal abuse is very easily spotted in relationships and is probably the most noticeable form of abuse. Yet, at the same time it is hard to recognize for many people because we have adapted so much to it. We don't even think twice when someone calls us "dumb" or "stupid". We just carry on with our lives. When someone is being verbally abused by another individual, some things that may go on are that they are: put down, corrected constantly, criticized, belittled, trivialized, ignored, snubed, and sneered at. Most people don't take this type of abuse very seriously in a time and age where it is socially acceptable to treat others this way. You do not have to take this from kind of abuse from anyone.

 

   Emotional abuse can fall under many different forms. Most people don't even realize they are suffering from emotional abuse until someone points it out to them. Some forms of emotional abuse are: withdrawl of affection (hugging, kissing, cuddling), domination and control (telling you when you can and can't go out), extreme moodiness (happy one minute and angery the next), use of sarcasm or an unpleasant tone when speaking to you, refusal to communicate, humiliation and put downs (telling you that you a re "stupid" and "dumb" infront of others) and provacative behavior with the opposite sex (flirting, touching, etc. in hopes of making you jealous or to hurt you). These are only a few forms of emotional abuse. There are of course many more.

 

   Mental abuse is not so easily seen as emotional abuse. It comes from how people say things to you and how you are meant to perceive what they are saying. It, like all other forms of abuse, take a toll on your self-esteem. It is meant to "cut" you down so that the person had control over you.

 

Sexual abuse is one of the hardest forms of abuse for a person to deal with. It is hard to talk about and hard to get over. Yes all abuse is hard, but sexual abuse is a lot harder for many people to deal with. When it comes to sexual abuse, women and children are usually the biggest targets because they are considered weaker and easier to manipulate. There are men out there who do get abused but it is less common. There are many forms of sexual abuse. Some of them are: sexual touching and fondling, "peeping" into bedrooms or bathrooms, rape or attempted rape, forcing sex of any type on an individual and exposing them to pornographic pictures or videos when they do not want to see them.

 

This form of abuse is not well known and most people don't think it happens to anyone, but it does. Economical abuse is when someone controls the money you make and says what you can and cannot do with it. Sometimes they will take it for themselves and will give you an allowance, other times they will pay the bills with it and you won't see a cent of it. In most cases, only one person in the relationship works, while the other one sits at home and does nothing.

 

Physical abuse is one of the most widely used forms of abuse, yet is it the least talked about among people. Many people who experience physical abuse are too afraid or embarrassed to talk about it and the rest just choose to ignore it or act as if it doesnt exist. There are more forms of physcial abuse then one could count on all your fingers and toes. It may start off small with something as simple as pushing past someone when you don't want to talk to them. Then there are the big things like, hitting, slapping, pinching, biting, punching, pulling, kicking, throwing, pinning someone down, tying them up or even choking them. Even though people know that this is wrong, they are usually too afraid to leave the person because they are being threatened, they have low self esteem or they love the person. It is always important to be there for someone who you know is being abused and do not try and force them into doing things. If you are going to suggest something, do it from the perspective that it would help them (the abusee) out. Don't tell them how bad the person is that they are with because it only encourages them to push you away.

 

• One-half of all Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of violence since the age of 16
• Almost one-half of women reported violence by men known to them and one-quarter reported violence by a stranger
• One-quarter of all women have experienced violence at the hands of their current or past marital partner (includes common-law unions)
• One-in-six currently married women reported violence by their spouses; one-half of women with previous marriages reported violence by a previous spouse
• More than one-in-ten women who reported violence in a current marriage have at some point felt their lives were in danger
• Six-in-ten Canadian women who walk alone in their own area after dark feel "very" or "somewhat" worried doing so
• Women with violent fathers-in-law are at three times the risk of assault by their partners than are women with non-violent fathers-in-law

Source:  Statistics Canada. The Daily,  Thursday, November 18, 1993.