SPOUSAL ABUSE

Spousal abuse

Spousal Abuse

Spousal abuse is a very difficult behavior to define because it embraces a number of symptoms involving both physical and emotional abuse. Physical abuse includes physical violence, such as beating, hitting, shoving, and any other physical assault that is considered as deliberate. And emotional abuse is characterized by behavior that is aimed to humiliate verbally, to ridicule, to put-down, to criticize, to demean or just simply neglect another partner.

Spousal abuse is a very serious pattern of behavior that may be caused by a number of different factors. The violence often begins with a verbal humiliation and emotional abuse and, eventually intensifies and increases until it reaches a form of a physical abuse. Abusers usually say and do things to shame or insult. They mock the victim in private as well as in front of other people, telling the victims they are ugly, fat, too skinny, stupid, miserable, lazy, etc. In fact, many victims consider verbal abuse more painful than an open physical abuse. Long after the bruises, scars and broken bones from physical abuse heal, verbal abuse is still stuck deep inside a victim's soul.

One of the reasons of a person becoming violent can be a learned behavior that a child observes in a family and later repeats in his own adult relationships. Studies show that abusers are often motivated by insecurity and lack of power, which really provides a false sense of control. Abusers can also be motivated by an unhealthy feeling of possessiveness and jealousy. Although abusers can come from different backgrounds, there are some common features that have been found among them. An abuser often has poor communication skills, wants to dominate and be in control of everything, blames other people for his abusive actions, has almost no control of his impulses, and suffers from a low self esteem. They constantly want to show a power over the victim. They control, they manipulate, and they try to threaten the victim.

Spousal, or domestic abuse comprises the entire set of abusive behaviors - sexual, emotional, psychological, financial, physical, psychological, and verbal. Everything is directed mostly at the abuser's spouse, mate, girlfriend, or boyfriend. So why such an attitude is being tolerated in many cases? Why does a victim still stay in the abusive environment? What can be actually done about such demeanor, especially when it is hard, or sometimes even impossible to prove?

Very often classic abusers send ...