Domestic violence involves the systematic use of force, threats and intimidation by one partner upon another in order for the dominating partner to have control over the victim. Domestic violence crosses all cultures, races, and socioeconomic levels. Abusers and their victims can be gay , straight, young, or old.
Abuse can be verbal, physical, emotional, financial, and sexual.
Most domestic violence victims are women, but that doesn't mean that others cannot be battered or be perpetrators of abuse. Often batterers have low self-esteem and gain a sense of power by humiliating and controlling their partner. Control techniques can include verbal insults meant to bring down the partner's self esteem, threats meant to scare the partner into obedience, or mind games intended to make the victim feel unsure and weak. Batterers who use physical abuse push, slap, pinch, grab or use other demonstrations of physical strength to show that they have the power in the relationship and to keep the partner from exercising control over her own life. Abusers often show extreme possessiveness of their partner, wanting their partner to account for time spent away from home or on the phone.