Abuse takes many forms. If you are you being abused or suspect you know someone who is, consider the following:

Economic or financial abuse includes:

• Controlling of your finances.
• Withholding money or credit cards.
• Making you account for money you spend.
• Withholding basic necessities (food, clothes, medications, shelter).
• Restricting you to an allowance.
• Preventing you from working or choosing your own career.
• Sabotaging your job (making you miss work, calling constantly)
• Stealing from you or taking your money.

Emotional abuse includes

• Verbal abuse such as yelling, name-calling, shaming, and blaming
• Putting down your family and friends.
• Accusing you of paying too much attention to someone or something else.
• Threatening to commit suicide.
• Isolating you from family and friends
• Threatening to out you or reveal your secrets
• Using intimidating and controlling behaviour
• Stalking and harassment
• Using the children against you

You may think physical abuse is worse than emotional abuse, but the scars of emotional abuse are very real and they run deep. In fact, emotional abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse—sometimes even more so.

Physical abuse includes:

• Hitting or threatening to hit you
• Throwing or threatening to throw something at you
• Threatening you with a knife, gun, or other weapon
• Kicking
• Choking
• Biting
• Pinching
• Slapping
• Punching
• Hair pulling
• Burning
• Sexual assault
• Withholding medical attention
• Exposing you to harsh elements (for instance locking you out in the cold)