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Identifying Abuse

What Is Spiritual Abuse?

A comprehensive guide to recognizing this type of domestic violence, also called religious abuse | Spiritual abuse, also called religious abuse, has multiple meanings.... read more
Netflix's "Maid" Highlights Truth About Domestic Violence

The 6 things the show got right, and one thing it got wrong | Netflix’s Maid is the 10-episode fictional drama released in October, based on Stephanie Land’s 2019 memo... read more
A Guide to Gaslighting

A comprehensive look at this confusing abusive tactic that makes you doubt your reality | In yet another tactic of power and control, abusive partners can use gaslight... read more
Drugging an Intimate Partner as an Abuse Tactic

Abusers slip drugs to their intimate partners to control, sexually assault, disable and discredit them | In a violating and abusive move, sometimes abusers will give d... read more
Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships: Eight Tactics

When sex in a couple is not exactly violent, but not entirely voluntary, either | Sexual coercion refers to using nonviolent means to pressure an unwilling partner to ... read more
Revenge Porn Meets the Law: Federal Protections for Victims

A federal law on nonconsensual distribution of sexual images, or “revenge porn,” is poised to become law | Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and one U.S. t... read more
What is Physical Abuse?

There’s never an excuse for a partner to be physically violent. This comprehensive guide breaks down what’s involved in physical abuse | Physical abuse in a relationsh... read more
What Are the Power and Control Wheels?

A comprehensive guide to the many versions of this helpful illustration that outlines tactics abusers use | Many survivors of domestic abuse and violence will say that... read more
A Guide to Coercive Control

How to recognize this subtle yet dangerous form of domestic abuse | Coercive control refers to any pattern of behavior an abuser uses to dominate their partner and lim... read more
Is Your Partner Exploiting Your Work?

You work too hard, and you feel you have no choice about it. Is your partner exploiting your labor? | In many [healthy] couples, both people work hard but neither pers... read more
Bad News: Anyone Can Be a Gaslighter

Gaslighting is a manipulation technique used by narcissists everywhere. How to spot examples of gaslighting by co-workers, friends and acquaintances | Gaslighting is u... read more
What Is Elder Abuse?

A comprehensive guide to understanding domestic violence and the role of adult protective services | Elder abuse is the intentional or negligent mistreatment of an adu... read more
What is Verbal Abuse?

A comprehensive guide to understanding how an argument can be healthy, but a pattern of ongoing degradation is not | Arguments are normal, even healthy, in a relations... read more
What Is Financial Abuse?

A comprehensive guide to understanding, escaping and recovering from financial abuse | When we think about domestic violence and abuse, we don’t often think about how ... read more
What Is Emotional Abuse?

A comprehensive guide to understanding emotional abuse | If there’s a weakness that abusers can exploit in a survivor, they’ll find it. One’s emotional stability is ju... read more