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HAWC

Helping abused women, children, men, and nonbinary people live free from violence and fear

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  • Domestic Violence
    • Is This Relationship Abusive?
    • Types of relationships
    • Myths about domestic violence
    • Why Leaving is Hard
    • Safety Tips
    • Help Someone You Know
    • Additional Resources
  • Services
    • 24-Hour Hotline
    • Advocacy & Education
    • Legal Advocacy
    • Hospital Advocacy
    • Children’s Services
    • Emergency Family Shelter
  • About HAWC
    • Annual Corporate Partnerships
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership Team and Board of Directors
    • Our Funders
    • Celebrating 40 Years
    • Careers
  • Give Help Now
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About Domestic Violence

Regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, or financial status, anyone can experience domestic violence.

You are here: Home / Get Help Now / About Domestic Violence

Domestic violence may occur gradually, growing more intense over time. As a result, many people do not realize they’re experiencing abuse right away. If you feel that you might be experiencing domestic violence, click here to learn more about the warning signs of abuse.

Domestic violence is a pattern of harmful behaviors used to gain power over the thoughts and actions of a partner, loved one, friend, or other individual. While abuse takes many forms depending on the relationship, abusers often control their partners using the following tactics.

On average, 24 people per minute are victims of sexual or physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is any intentional act that causes physical trauma to another person, such as looming over a victim, blocking someone’s escape route, grabbing, burning, stabbing, biting, strangling, using weapons, driving recklessly, throwing or breaking things, confinement, and preventing access to medical care or medication.

Mental or Emotional abuse

Mental or emotional abuse diminishes the victim’s self-worth through intimidation, manipulation, isolation, mind games, blame, humiliation, stalking, excessive texts and calls, intercepted messages or emails, and any attempt at making someone feel inferior.

Nearly half of all American women and men experience mental abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetimes.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse involves any unwanted sexual behavior by one person upon another, such as nonconsensual sexual touching or activity, pressure to engage in sexual activity, prohibiting safe sex practices on purpose, withholding sexual activity as a form of punishment, forcing a partner not to use birth control, forcing pregnancy or abortion, or forcing a partner to participate in pornography.

Verbal Abuse

Verbal abuse uses language and behavior to cause victims to doubt their abilities through yelling, shouting, swearing, arguing, interrupting, name-calling, patronizing, using loud tones, mocking, and threatening.

Cultural, Social, Political, or Racial Abuse

Cultural, social, political, or racial abuse occurs when an abuser uses a victim’s identity to gain control. Threatening deportation, threatening to share someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity without permission, using racial slurs, isolating partners from their culture or religion, destroying immigration documents, and preventing access to adaptive equipment all fall under this category.

Economic Abuse

Economic abuse renders victims unable to support themselves financially by withholding money, controlling accounts, prohibiting access to financial accounts, prohibiting access to financial accounts, forbidding employment or education, ruining credit, and preventing use of a vehicle.

In 99% of all domestic violence cases, economic abuse contributes to the feeling that a victim cannot escape.

Abuse is not constant. Instead, violence is one stage of a behavioral cycle. Every stage can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few years, and the pattern might look different depending on the relationship.

References

  • About the Invisible Weapon: Financial Abuse and the Weaponry Abusers Use. Purple Purse. Retrieved from
    http://purplepurse.com/get-the-facts/about-domestic-violence/about-the-invisible-weapon
  • Black, Michele C., et. al. (November 2011). National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report.National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Retrieved from
    https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf
  • Tiesman, Hope M., et. al. (April 2012). Workplace Homicides Among U.S. Women: The Role of Intimate Partner Violence. Annals of Epidemiology. Retrieved from
    http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/S1047-2797(12)00024-5/abstract

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HAWC Locations

HAWC serves 23 cities on Massachusetts’ North Shore from the five central locations listed below.

  • Salem, MA 978-744-8552
  • Gloucester, MA 978-283-8642
  • Lynn, MA 781-592-9900
  • North Shore Medical Center 978-354-4383
  • For 24-hour support, call our hotline at: 1-800-547-1649
  • Para apoyo llama nuestra linea de 24 horas a 1-800-547-1649.

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