The location matters
Many times, the location where the couple is located has an impact on what type of abuse occurs. Abusers are likely to avoid physical abuse tactics when they are out in public or around other people. In these cases, the abuser might resort to emotional abuse where they try to control what the person does. This could be a fear of what will happen when they return home. It could be due to intimidation methods.
Often, these are subtle enough that other people might not notice. If outsiders do notice these tactics, they might think there are issues at home, but might not realize the issue is abuse.
Signs of physical and emotional abuse
The signs of physical abuse are easy to see but might not be easy to recognize. The bruises and other marks are easy to spot but the victim or the abuser might lie about the cause. Falling down the stairs or running into a door are common lies about what happened.
The signs of emotional abuse are usually more subtle from the outside. Victims often have to endure name calling, shaming, yelling, blaming and intimidation. All of this is a way to make the person feel inferior and to control him or her.
Isolation and dependence
One common method of emotional abuse is keeping the victim from his or her family members. The abuser wants the victim to be totally depended upon him or her.
Using financial or economic abuse might also be a tactic to keep the victim dependent. In this case, money and other assets are limited so the abuser needs to be asked about everything that has to do with money. Even job prospects might be limited in these cases.
An abusive relationship is often hard for the victim to walk away from. The emotional and financial abuse can compound the difficulty that the person faces. While this is challenging for people on the outside looking in to accept, it is the reality for many victims of domestic abuse.
