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Identifying Abuse

Technology and Teen Dating Violence Are Unfortunately Linked

Dating abuse is easier than ever thanks to cell phones and social media | On March 14 of this year, a young girl’s prank had unimaginable consequences. Tysen Benz, ... read more
Sexual Assault Is More Than Rape

How to recognize if you’re a victim | There’s a misconception out there that sexual assault is simply another way to describe rape or attempted rape. Every other ty... read more
Withholding Intimacy Can Be Abusive, Too

Another type of sexual abuse includes using sex to taunt, control a victim | Michele Weston describes herself as “a smart girl with a college degree” who, for a whi... read more
The Big Deal about Belittling

When abuse takes the form of insults and other disparaging words and actions | Emotional and psychological abuse can take many forms, including belittling, which ca... read more
Why We Blame Victims for Domestic Violence

And how to respond to victim-blaming when it’s directed at you | How many times have you read a news story about a woman accusing someone of abuse only to scroll down... read more
Domestic Violence in the Transgender Community

Rates of intimate partner violence are high and barriers stand in the way of getting help | Domestic violence affects people with any gender identity, and transgender... read more
Abuse Cannot Be Blamed on Mental Illness

Research shows abusers are no more likely to be mentally ill than others | Abusers love excuses. They only yelled at you because they were drunk. They only hit you be... read more
Ways Manipulative Narcissists Silence You: Part IV

Narcissists enjoy making malicious remarks at a survivor's expense | In Parts I, II and III of Shahida Arabi's piece on toxic people, we learned 15 ways abusiv... read more
When Abuse Goes from Shouting to Striking

Verbal abuse often turns to physical abuse. Here’s how to see the signs | There’s no medical report. No bruises or black eye or broken bone to signal what’s happeni... read more
Ways Manipulative Narcissists Silence You: Part III

Toxic partners tend to insult and devalue their exes, which is a warning sign for your future | In Parts I and II of Shahida Arabi's piece on diversion tactics tox... read more
Ways Manipulative Narcissists Silence You: Part II

Does your abuser shift blame, change the subject, name-call or nitpick? | In Part I of Shahida Arabi's piece, we learned about four ways toxic people such as malign... read more
20 Ways Manipulative Narcissists Silence You: Part I

Learn the ways some abusers with mental illness negate responsibility for their choices | Toxic people such as malignant narcissists, psychopaths and those with anti... read more
3 Ways to Listen to Your Gut

Your intuition is trying to warn you of danger ... are you ignoring it? | It’s likely we’ve all met that person at some point in our lives that makes us take a paus... read more
The Deaf Endure Domestic Violence More Than Hearing

The unique challenges this population faces | Dealing with domestic violence is hard for everyone. But the deaf and hard of hearing face unique challenges others do... read more
The Mind-Trip That Is Emotional Abuse

How to recognize the signs of an abuse that leaves no bruises | People often think that domestic violence means physical hostility—fistfights, shoving matches, hair... read more