traumasurvivors:

Types of Abuse

Physical Abuse: Physical abuse is one of the types of abuse people think of the most when they hear the term “abuse.” This can include hitting, slapping, kicking, punching, choking or even physically not allowing a partner to leave or any number of things that leave someone feeling physically not safe. 

Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse is another commonly thought of type of abuse when people consider the word “abuse.” This might include rape and other non-consensual sexual acts. It can also include objectifying the victim, degrading them for getting sexual pleasure, or other situations where there is no physical abuse but sex is still used to demean or control the victim. 

Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse can include a wide range of acts, which are generally intended to break down the self-confidence, and the mental and emotional stability of the victim. Someone who uses this type of abuse might call a person names or otherwise humiliate or degrade them to damage their self-worth. They also might gaslight a victim so that they have trouble trusting their own memory, and isolate or otherwise control them in order to make them more dependent on the abuser.

Financial/Economic Abuse: This is a form of abuse where one person has control over the other person’s resources, forcing the victim to rely on the abuser financially. This could also mean not allowing the person to pursue finding a job, education, and could even mean spending the victim’s money without consent. This is not uncommon in domestic violence situations as well as elder abuse situations. Financial abuse frequently occurs alongside other types of abuse, and inability to be financially independent after abuse (due to lack of job, abuser ruining the victim’s credit, etc) is one of the most common reasons victims return to their abusers. 

Cultural Abuse: One of the less well-recognized forms of abuse (but not less valid). This form of abuse occurs when an abuser uses a person’s cultural identity, or aspects of it, in order to inflict abuse. Some examples might include denying the victim access to their cultural or spiritual community, preventing the victim from observing their cultural practices, forcing the victim to do things which are in conflict with their cultural beliefs, misusing cultural traditions to normalize abusive behaviours or otherwise enable other abuse, or insulting or shaming someone for their cultural identity. I want to mention that the term “culture” is really broad and could also mean things like threatening to “out” someone for being LGBTQ+ or using racial slurs.

Any and all types of abuse are valid. All of them can cause trauma, or any number of feelings as a result. If your trauma comes from any form of abuse, your trauma is valid.