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My friend, my sister, my daughter, someone I know… is in an abusive relationship.

 I care and as a witness, I can take action!

Verbal or emotional abuse can occur in family, social, intimate and/or work relationships. The abuser tries to win control over another individual by:

 Rejecting her: Ignoring or depreciating her, denying her ideas and feelings

 Degrading her: Insulting her, making fun of her, altering her sense of identity and self-worth

 Isolating her: restricting her vital space, her freedom

 Corrupting or exploiting her: making her accept behaviors that are against the law

If someone I know experiences anxiety, feelings of shame and guilt, concentration problems, confusion, fatigue and/or an emotional void…

I can:

• Encourage her to verbalize  and express her feelings;
• Recognize the abuser is solely responsible for his abusive behavior;
• Acknowledge that all types of violence are unacceptable;
• Identify the victim’s sense of helplessness and direct her towards a resource;
• Call the Women’s Shelter if I feel overwhelmed by the victim’s sufferings… I, too, need to be supported to be    able to help without exhausting myself.

What can we do, all of us, in our daily life and in our personal and work environment to live in a violence-free society? Any act of violence involves emotional violence. Emotional or psychological abuse occurs repetitively and escalates over time. If nothing is done, it will not disappear; it can only get worse.

The only way out is to talk in order to:

• Give the abuser full responsibility for his actions
• Speak to a trustworthy person
• Seek legal and/or social resources
• Promote respect, gender equality and the right to difference
• Discourage sexist and degrading jokes
• Condemn sexist remarks
• You are not sure if this is domestic violence? Call us for clarifications: 418-962-8141