Domestic Violence

Lucky are those individuals for whom home is a safe haven. For many women around the world, it is at home where they are subjected to dreadful crimes of terror and violence and sometimes even death at the hands of their family members. Physically, mentally and sexually victimized, most of these women have no option but to keep giving into silent suffering simply because when the abuse is inside the home, it is condoned by a large part of the society and the State.

Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior used by an abuser to maintain power and control over his or her partner. It may include emotional abuse (“put-downs”, name-calling, humiliation, mind games, treating the partner like a servant); isolation (limiting the partner's activities outside the relationship, controlling who the partner sees or speaks to and where he or she goes); financial abuse (preventing the partner from getting a job or controlling all the money); threats and intimidation (making the partner feel as though he or she may be physically hurt if the abuser's demands are not satisfied, including displaying weapons or damaging property); and physical violence, including forced sexual relations. Generally, domestic violence begins with non-violent behaviors as the abused partner seeks to pull away from the relationship or assert his/her independence. Once the abuse becomes physical, it generally becomes increasingly violent over time.