Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, coercive control, social abuse & more
Types of Domestic Violence
Recognise the types of domestic violence affecting our community
Domestic and family violence can involve a range of different behaviours, so being able to recognise when violence is occurring enables you to take the appropriate steps to intervene.
Physical abuse is any behaviour that causes, or threatens to cause, physical harm to another person.
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This can include hitting, kicking, pushing, choking, restraining or using weapons. It can also include driving dangerously with someone in the car, denying someone sleep or basic needs, damaging property, harming or threatening pets, or hurting children.
Emotional abuse is behaviour that repeatedly undermines a person’s confidence, self-worth and sense of safety.
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This can include insults, humiliation, name-calling, constant criticism, blaming someone for problems, making them feel worthless or responsible for the abuse, threatening to leave or harm themselves, deliberately ignoring or isolating them, and controlling who they can spend time with.
Sexual abuse is any unwanted sexual behaviour or contact, including when someone is pressured, manipulated, threatened or forced to participate.
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This can include unwanted touching or sexual activity, being pressured or forced into sex, reproductive coercion, sexual assault, refusing to respect sexual boundaries, sharing intimate images without consent, using sexually degrading language, or preventing someone from using contraception.
Financial abuse, also known as economic abuse, occurs when someone uses money or financial resources to control, restrict or exploit another person.
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This can include controlling access to bank accounts or money, taking someone’s wages or Centrelink payments, preventing them from working or studying, refusing to contribute to household expenses, creating debt in their name, forcing them to take out loans, or controlling everyday spending.
Coercive control is a pattern of abusive behaviours used over time to create fear and take away a person’s freedom, independence and sense of control.
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It can include monitoring someone’s movements, phone or social media, isolating them from family and friends, controlling what they wear or where they go, restricting access to money, repeatedly criticising or humiliating them, making threats, or threatening children, pets or other people they care about.
Online abuse is when technology, social media or digital devices are used to harm, control, monitor, threaten or intimidate another person.
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This can include repeatedly checking someone’s location, messages or online activity, demanding passwords, monitoring social media accounts, sending threatening or abusive messages, using technology to isolate someone from others, sharing private information or intimate images without consent, creating fake accounts to harass someone, using tracking technology to monitor their movements, or creating and sharing deepfake images or videos of someone without their consent.
Spiritual abuse occurs when someone uses a person’s religious, spiritual or cultural beliefs to harm, control, frighten or manipulate them.
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This can include preventing someone from practising their religion or culture, controlling who they can worship or connect with, forcing them to participate in religious or cultural practices against their wishes, using religious teachings to justify abuse, denying access to cultural ceremonies, Country or family, or attacking or degrading someone's cultural or spiritual identity.
What are the types of domestic & family violence?
Often mistaken for physical abuse, domestic violence can take many different forms of harmful behaviour. A person may experience one or several types of abuse. Knowing the signs can help you Recognise, Respond and Refer.
