Domestic violence

A common misconception is that domestic violence only involves physical violence. In reality, it can take many forms, including sexual, verbal, psychological and emotional abuse, economic and technology-facilitated abuse, stalking and harassment.

Examples can include:

• Making you engage in sexual behaviour without your consent
• Forcing you into prostitution
• Forcing you to have sex with other people besides your partner
• Stopping you from using contraception
• Forcing you to have an abortion — or preventing you from having one
• Criticising you for your sexual performance
• Accusing you of having sex with other people

• Making threats to harm or kill you, your children or other family members, friends or pets — or themselves
• Name-calling, insults, continual criticism, and using words to isolate and control
• Deliberately embarrassing or humiliating you in public
• Starting destructive rumours about you, or threatening to expose secrets or confidential information
• Manipulating you so that you start to question your own sanity, memory, perception, or judgement — often called gaslighting

• Attacking you with a weapon
• Choking or strangling you; burning you with cigarettes, an iron, oven or fire; pushing, kicking, biting, pinching, slapping, or hitting or punching you with hands or objects
• Holding down, shaking, or tying you up
• Smashing or breaking your belongings or furniture
• Depriving you of food, warmth, sleep, medication, or other aids

Examples can include humiliating you or calling you names; constantly making you feel guilty; belittling or mocking your gender identity or expression; and telling you that nobody will believe you if you report the abuse.

Emotional abuse overlaps with verbal abuse, and can also include:

• Criticising, undermining, or interrogating you
• Using your immigration status to control you
• Telling you that no one else will ever want you, in order to undermine your confidence
• Isolating you from friends, family, or support

Economic abuse can be difficult to recognise because it doesn't always look like control over money at first. It involves behaviours that limit someone's ability to access, use or maintain money and other economic resources, affecting their independence, security and wellbeing.

It can look different across different cultures and circumstances, but often involves three key forms of control:

• Sabotaging someone's income or access to money
• Restricting how they use money or their belongings
• Taking advantage of their financial situation.

Examples can include:

• Preventing you from being in education or employment, limiting your working hours, or taking your pay
• Refusing to let you claim benefits or access a bank account
• Bride price and dowry-related tactics
• Controlling the use of property, when and how money is spent, or what you can buy
• Restricting access to shared housing
• Preventing you from getting a job or harassing you at work — in person, by phone, or by other electronic means
• Making major financial decisions without your agreement, running up debts in your name, taking out benefits in your name, withholding money, or making you ask for money
• Refusal to contribute financial resources
• Exploitation of women's labour

Everyone's experience of domestic violence is unique, and the person experiencing it is the expert in their own life and safety. They know their circumstances, their partner's behaviour and patterns, and what feels safe or unsafe for them — often in ways that others cannot. They should remain at the centre of decisions about their safety, support and next steps.

There is no single way abuse will affect someone, and people may respond and cope in very different ways.

Domestic violence can affect physical health, mental and emotional wellbeing, relationships and everyday life. Someone may experience anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep difficulties or feel disconnected from themselves. It can also lead to injuries, chronic pain, headaches, gastrointestinal problems and reproductive health concerns. The impact can extend to social isolation, difficulty trusting or connecting with others, or using substances as a way of coping.

Whatever someone's response looks like, it is important to listen without judgement, respect their choices, and support them to access help in ways that prioritise their safety and autonomy.

“Some of the biggest victims of domestic violence are the smallest.” — UNICEF, 2006

Violence in the home is one of the most pervasive human rights challenges of our time. It remains a largely hidden problem that few countries, communities, or families openly confront. It is not limited by geography, ethnicity, or status. It is a global phenomenon. As long as violence in the home is shrouded in silence, that violence will continue.

Worldwide, 1 in 4 children — around 610 million — live with a mother who is experiencing intimate partner violence (UNICEF, 2025). Children who witness family violence tend not to perform as well as their peers in school, at sports, and in social interactions, and have a greater chance of behavioural problems. They may blame themselves, have sleep problems, nightmares, and headaches.

When a parent seeks help for abuse, their children must not be forgotten. They, too, need a support plan to recover from the violence they have witnessed and for problems they may be experiencing, which can show up in many ways.

Whilst women are more often reported as victims of domestic violence, men also experience abuse in varying contexts. The prevalence of domestic violence towards men is often higher than expected. In the US, about 1 in 3 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime. In the UK, for every 3 victims of domestic violence, about 1 is male and 2 are female.

Many men avoid seeking help due to stigma, embarrassment, cultural expectations, and worry that the abuse will be minimised or dismissed. Many men are socialised not to communicate their feelings or to see themselves as victims. Many also believe there are no resources for male victims — a belief reinforced when the media largely portrays domestic violence as something that occurs only in heterosexual relationships with a man as the perpetrator and a woman as the victim.

Most services are either equipped to support male survivors, or will signpost them to services that are. There are also resources specifically designed to support male survivors, which the Global Directory lists where available.