When people hear or say the word “abuse” I would bet a lot of people think physical abuse, and more specifically, physical abuse a man commits against a woman. There is no doubt this is an all too common type of abuse, but there are other types of abuse out there, and offenders are not always male.
Abusive behaviors can be categorized into different types of abusive behavior: Physical, Emotional, Verbal, Sexual, Economic, Mental, and Spiritual. Each can be extremely damaging and leave scars (not just physical scars but emotional ones as well) that could stay with the victim for years to come.
Cross over
It’s important to note that an abusive act can be in multiple categories at the same time. For example, verbal berating, intimidation, and denigration can also be emotionally and mentally abusive to the victim’s self worth. Clearly, forced sexual contact can fall into the physical and emotion categories as well.