Approximately 50 percent of all injuries suffered by women who go to emergency rooms are the direct result of physical abuse. We also know that power and control over someone else are the reasons behind domestic violence physical violence is the tool used by the abuser to gain control and power in the relationship. Physical abuse is easy to identify and assess you can t ignore a black eye or broken bone. But verbal abuse is difficult to measure. Verbal abuse might be misinterpreted as a bad habit, strong expression or just the way he or she talks.
Verbal abuse can be a weapon used by either partner in a couple.
Both men and women can equally be victims of verbal abuse even though the reason for the abuse or its expression may differ. Given that verbal abuse nearly always precedes physical assault, this publication focuses on the frequent attack of words some women experience from their male partners. Verbal abuse is a systematic way of instilling self doubt in the victim and building the abuser s sense of total power. Verbal abuse is sometimes disguised as good natured humor or pet names. But the victim of these verbal assaults knows exactly what they are.