What is Domestic Violence
By definition of the Ohio Revised Code: 2919.25 Domestic violence.
(A) No person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a family or household member.
(B) No person shall recklessly cause serious physical harm to a family or household member.
(C) No person, by threat of force, shall knowingly cause a family or household member to believe that the offender will cause imminent physical harm to the family or household member.
Domestic Violence is a pattern of abusive and controlling behaviors such as, physical, sexual, verbal, spiritual and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion, that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners.
Domestic abuse happens to individuals of all ethnicities, races, ages, educational levels, religions, and sexual orientations. Women are overwhelmingly the victims of abuse (with 85-90% of victims of domestic abuse being women abused by male partners), but men can also be victims of abuse by male or female partners. Domestic abuse also occurs in same-sex relationships.
It is not always easy to identify a partner’s abusive tactics in a relationship at first. Abusive individuals are known to be extremely manipulative and in many cases are kind, attentive, and charming when a relationship begins. Often abusive behaviors, such as possessiveness (disguised as lots of attention) and jealously (portrayed as a caring concern for their partner), appear to be flattering in the early stages of a new relationship. In many cases, abuse becomes worse once the victim has developed emotional, economic, or social ties to the abuser that make leaving the relationship more difficult.
It is not always easy to identify a partner’s abusive tactics in a relationship at first. Abusive individuals are known to be extremely manipulative and in many cases are kind, attentive, and charming when a relationship begins. Often abusive behaviors, such as possessiveness (disguised as lots of attention) and jealously (portrayed as a caring concern for their partner), appear to be flattering in the early stages of a new relationship. In many cases, abuse becomes worse once the victim has developed emotional, economic, or social ties to the abuser that make leaving the relationship more difficult.
Just what do we mean by abusive tactics? Here are a few examples:
- Physical: Kicking, punching, shoving, slapping, pushing, and any other acts which hurt your body.
- Sexual: Calling you vulgar names, criticizing your body part or sensuality, forced or pressured sexual acts, including rape
- Emotional Assaults against your self-esteem Verbal Name-calling, threats, put-downs
- Psychological: Causing you to feel as if you are "going crazy"
- Spiritual: Attacking your spiritual or religious beliefs
- Financial: Controlling and manipulating you by threatening your economic status and basic needs
- Homophobic: Threatening to "out" you to people who do not know your sexual orientation
- Immigration: Using your immigration status and fear of deportation to control you
- Destructive Acts: Actual or threatened assault of your property or pets to scare you
