Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior used by one partner in a relationship to gain or maintain power and control over another person.
This type of abuse can occur anywhere in the world, including in relationships outside a person’s country of origin. Many immigrant women experience abuse while living abroad, especially when they depend on their partner for legal status, financial support, or immigration matters.
Domestic violence may involve physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological abuse, as well as behaviors intended to intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, or threaten the victim.
Domestic violence can affect anyone, regardless of race, age, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
Within the immigration context, many victims face additional challenges such as language barriers, immigration dependency, or fear of seeking help.
Hitting, slapping, pushing, grabbing, pinching, biting, pulling someone’s hair, and similar acts are forms of physical abuse. Physical abuse also includes denying medical care or forcing someone to use alcohol or drugs.
Examples of Abusive Behaviors:
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, pushing, grabbing, pinching, biting, pulling hair, and other acts of violence. It also includes denying medical care or forcing the use of alcohol and/or drugs.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse involves forcing or attempting to force any sexual act or behavior without consent.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse undermines a person’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem.
Examples include:
Economic Abuse
Economic abuse involves controlling or restricting a person’s ability to obtain, use, or maintain financial resources to which they are entitled.
This may include coercion, fraud, or manipulation to limit access to money, property, credit, or financial information; misuse of the victim’s financial resources; or improperly influencing financial decisions, including:
Psychological Abuse
Examples include:
Technology-Facilitated Abuse
Technology abuse is any act or pattern of behavior intended to harm, threaten, control, stalk, harass, impersonate, exploit, extort, or monitor another person through technology, including but not limited to:
This content was translated and adapted from the Office on Violence Against Women – OVW, a component of the United States Department of Justice. The OVW administers the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and provides national leadership on issues related to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
