What is Domestic Violence?

Many people think that domestic violence means physical violence. This sometimes leads to women not seeking help because “at least he doesn’t hit me”.

Domestic violence is about control – about how one person (usually a man) uses an intimate relationship to control their partner or former partner (usually a woman). The controlling behaviour forms a pattern, rather than being one-off incidents.

Controlling behaviour may include:

Physical abuse
pushing, shoving, beating, burning, strangling, kicking, killing

Sexual abuse
sexual degradation, rape, forced and unwanted sexual practices

Psychological abuse
control of every part of her daily life, threats to kill her or her children, isolation and control of her contact with the outside world, verbal abuse and threats, constant criticism, sleep deprivation

Financial abuse
withholding money, controlling how money is spent.

As BWA is a woman-for-woman service, we will provide support for women who are experiencing domestic violence from both male and female partners or former partners.

• are you scared of your partner?
• are you scared of disagreeing with or angering him?
• does he constantly check up on you and/ or does he make it difficult for you to see family and friends?
• does he withhold money/ food/ affection from you?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you may be experiencing domestic violence.