Many people believe that Domestic violence is only physical abuse.  However, Domestic violence takes many different forms.  It may also be psychological, sexual, financial or spiritual violence

• Physical Abuse includes hitting, pinching, spitting, slapping, pushing, punching, kicking, burning, stabbing, strangulation, suffocating & shooting.  It may also include threats to cause harm.

• Psychological Abuse (sometimes referred to as emotional or verbal abuse) includes put-downs, name calling, jealousy, harassing, screaming, using degrading language, insults, criticism, harming pets or animals, isolation from family and friends, and threats to leave the relationship or to commit suicide if the victim does not co-operate.

• Sexual Abuse includes unwanted touching or sexual activity, raping and forcing victim into unwanted sexual practices.  It may include control over birth control, forced pregnancies or abortions and transmission of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD).

• Financial Abuse occurs when an individual uses finances to control another individual. This could include forcing a person to hand over all or part of their salary or by denying someone access to their own finances, making victim ask or beg for money, forceful removal of money from victim.

• Spiritual Abuse occurs when an individual uses religious or spiritual matters to control another, such as forcing another to follow a particular faith or give up their religion or justifying their violence as religiously and spiritually acceptable.

  
  

Duluth Model of Violence http://www.theduluthmodel.org/pdf/PhyVio.pdf (10 May, 2010)

Duluth Model of Child Abuse http://www.theduluthmodel.org/pdf/AbuseChl.pdf (10 May, 2010)

National Facts

• On average 14 women, 6 men and 10 children are killed by a member of their family every year.

• 1 in 3 NZ women experience physical and/or sexual abuse from an intimate partner in their lifetime.

• Just over 1 in 5 men are subjected to violence from their partners.

• During December and January 2005/06 Police attended nearly 11,000 incidents of family violence, that’s about 1 every 8 minutes.  More than 6000 children witnessed this violence.  More than half those children were aged under five.

• In the year ended June 2006 25,356 men and 4,135 women were arrested for family violence offences.

http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/PublicationArea.aspx?area=Fact+Sheets (The Dominion Post, 3 July 2008)