Domestic and family violence (DFV) can take many forms and may not always be physical. Sometimes it can be hard to recognise the signs of a harmful relationship. DFV is where one person in a relationship uses violence or abuse to maintain power and control over the other person.
DFV can include behaviours, or a pattern of behaviour, that is physically, sexually, emotionally, psychologically, or economically abusive, threatening, coercive, or aimed at controlling or dominating a person through fear.
Coercive control is a defining feature of DFV. This is when one person uses a pattern of abusive behaviours (physical and/or non-physical) to control and dominate the other person.
DFV can take many forms, including:
- Physical abuse – such as hitting, punching, kicking, biting, pushing, choking or strangulation, depriving the other person of sleep and food.
- Emotional abuse – such as constant put downs, name calling, humiliation, and threats.
- Sexual violence – such as unwanted sexual activity or sexual degradation, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and reproductive coercion (controlling contraception, preventing or forcing an abortion)
- Social violence – such as controlling or isolating someone from friends or family, using jealousy to justify abusive actions, limiting the other person’s social activity, where they go and who they see, and what they read
- Financial abuse – such as controlling all the money, preventing the other person from getting or keeping a job, making the other person ask for money or making them account for all their spending
- Spiritual violence – such as preventing someone from practising their faith or culture, or ridiculing their spiritual beliefs
- Intimidation and threats – such as threatening to hurt the other person, their children, family, friends, and pets, threatening to commit suicide if they leave, making the other person drop any charges, making them do illegal things
- Technology facilitated abuse – such as using text, email or phone to abuse, monitor, humiliate or punish, tracking or monitoring the other person’s movements and messages or e-mails, distributing private or sexual photos or videos
