Abuse
Be a role model for your child. If you are being abused, there is a chance the abuser will abuse your child. Learn to recognize abuse and take action to help your child. Choose your child over your partner.
Characteristics of Abusive Adults
- Immaturity – impulsive behavior, or using children to meet emotional or physical needs
- Lack of knowledge about parenting – not understanding a child’s developmental needs, or being frustrated by unmet expectations for kids
- Lack of interpersonal skills – inability to interact, form relationships or work with others
- Poor self-concept – considering themselves unlovable, worthless, or bad
- Isolation – little or no support from family, friends
Physical Abuse is any intentional unwanted physical contact with the victim. Some examples:
- Scratching
- Punching
- Biting
- Kicking
- Throwing something at you
- Pulling hair
- Choking
- Pushing
- Using a weapon
- Slapping
- Shoving
Sexual Abuse is any intentional unwanted sexual behavior perpetrated on a victim. Some examples:
- Rape
- Unwanted kissing or touching
- Forcing the victim to go further than they want (even if they have had sex before)
- Unwanted rough or violent sexual activity
Verbal/Emotional Abuse is anything that the abuser says or does to the victim that causes the victim to be afraid, lowers the victim's self esteem, or manipulates or controls the victim’s feelings or behavior. Some examples:
- Name-calling and put-downs
- Yelling and screaming
- Intentionally embarrassing the victim in front of other people
- Keeping the victim from seeing or talking with friends and family
- Telling the victim what to do
- Using online communities or cell phones to control, intimidate, or humiliate the victim.
- Making the victim feel responsible for the violence
- Stalking
- Threatening to commit suicide in order to manipulate the victim
- Threats of violence and harm, or to expose the victim’s secrets (such as sexual orientation or immigration status), or to take away the victim’s children
