Shakti Women's Aid

Some common forms of abuse are:

Physical abuse: hitting, kicking or punching a woman anywhere in the body; pulling hair; pushing her about; using weapons or other objects to harm her.

Sexual abuse: forcing a woman to have sex (rape), to have unprotected sex resulting in pregnancy and infections, to do sexual things she does not want to do.

Emotional abuse: not letting a woman see friends or family; insulting and criticising her and how she looks or behaves; and doing this in front of the children and family; telling her that she is shaming the family.

Controlling a woman: following her to work and back; constantly texting her to check where she is and what she is doing; not giving her any money; forcing her to work unpaid in the family business; not letting her study at college/university; not letting her work outside the home; locking her up; taking away her phone/sim card.

Threatening a woman: threatening to kill her or to kill themselves; to take the children from her; to take her overseas; to have her deported.