Remember, sexual assault is NOT the survivor s fault. Relationship violence is a more subtle and less talked about subject on campus. A relationship does not have to be physically violent to be abusive. Verbal and emotional abuse are very common especially in college relationships. Just because it is common does NOT mean it is acceptable.
Relationship violence occurs equally in heterosexual and homosexual couples.
It is not always the men who are the abusers. Telling someone what kind of clothes to wear or not wear, how to spend money, where to go on dates and what kind of birth control to use are all examples of limiting one s independence. Relationships that separate people from their friends and support groups are not healthy. Restricting contact with friends and family could be a potentially dangerous sign. Common threats in an abusive or potentially abusive relationship might be threatening to break up, reveal private and personal information, harm the person or their friends or to commit suicide if the person does not do what the abuser wants.