Common tactics in Domestic Violence

• Using Coercion and Threats
· Making and/or carrying out threats to do something harmful
· Threatening to leave, to commit suicide
· Making the victim drop charges
· Making the victim do illegal things

• Using Intimidation
· Making the victim afraid by using looks, actions or gestures
· Smashing things, destroying the victim's property
· Abusing pets
· Displaying weapons

• Using emotional abuse
· Putting the victims down
· Making the victim feel bad about themselves
· Calling names
· Making the victim think they're crazy
· Playing mind games
· Using humiliation
· Using guilt

• Using isolation
· Controlling what they do, who they see and talk to, what they read and where they go
· Limiting their outside involvement
· Using jealousy to justify actions

• Minimizing, denying and blaming
· Making light of the abuse and not taking concerns about it seriously
· Saying the abuse didn't happen
· Shifting responsibility for abusive behavior to the victim
· Saying the victim caused it

• Using children
· Making the victim feel guilty about the children
· Using the children to relay messages
· Using visitation to harass the victim
· Threatening to take the children away

• Using economic abuse
· Preventing them from getting or keeping a job
· Making them ask for money
· Giving them an allowance
· Taking their money
· Not letting them know about or have access to family income