DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
ADVOCACY
Domestic violence is an ongoing pattern of behaviors and abusive tactics used by an intimate partner or ex-partner to gain complete power and control over a person’s life. Domestic violence can happen if you are married, living together, dating, or share children together. You can also experience domestic violence from an ex-partner if you are separated or divorced.
Domestic violence is not a single isolated event, but rather a pattern of repeated behaviors and actions. It includes any and all of your partner’s behaviors and actions that manipulate, humiliate, intimidate, isolate, frighten, hurt, or injure you.
At SAAF, we provide advocacy for sexual and domestic violence victims. We can help with social, legal, and judicial systems. We also provide safety planning and transitional housing.
Forms of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence can take many forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial or economic abuse, technology abuse, and stalking. Most victims of domestic violence experience multiple forms of abuse at the same time. While physical or sexual assaults might not occur as often, non-physical domestic violence tactics—like emotional or financial abuse—are often happening every day.
Physical
When someone you’re in a personal relationship with is causing you physical injury, forcing you to have sex without consent, and/or using threats of physical injury to control you.
Sexual
When someone forces you to engage in unwanted sexual activity, repeatedly accuses you of sexual activity with others, makes you fearful of saying no, or denying you the use of contraception or protection from sexually transmitted diseases..
Emotional
When someone you’re in a personal relationship uses tactics like humiliation, demeans you in public or private, undermines your confidence or sense of self-worth, or uses threats or verbal abuse to try and control you.
