Just Because He Doesn’t Hit You, Doesn’t Mean He’s Not Abusing You

It is the first reaction of many women who are in an abusive relationship to deny the fact that the abuse is happening and to make excuses for their husband's abusive behavior. If your husband is abusing you, it is critical that you admit this to yourself and seek help to remove yourself from the situation.

Abuse Is Not Always Physical 

Your husband does not have to hit you in order to abuse you. Aside from physical abuse, you could also be suffering emotional, financial, or sexual abuse. Each of these types of abuse is equally as debilitating as physical abuse and can leave emotional and psychological scars that last just as long, if not longer, than physical ones.

In addition to physical confrontations, other forms of abuse include: 

• Emotional Abuse: Also referred to as psychological abuse, emotional abuse is a process by which someone slowly degrades your self-esteem and self-worth. This can include name-calling, blaming, shaming, yelling, isolation, and controlling behavior. Victims of emotional abuse are most likely to feel hopeless in their relationships.
• Financial Abuse: Your abusive husband may also seek to control you monetarily by rigidly controlling your finances, restricting your use of money and credit cards, restricting your basic necessities, giving you an "allowance," preventing you from working, sabotaging your career, or stealing your money.
• Sexual Abuse: It is estimated that between one-third and one-half of all battered women suffer this type of abuse. Sexual abuse includes any kind of nonconsensual sexual activity.  

If you are suffering any form of abuse you have every right to file for divorce and seek a happy, healthy life that is free from fear.

Learn more about how to leave an abusive husband by visiting our library or speaking to a Virginia divorce lawyer at (757) 425-5200.

Our Virginia divorce attorneys care about your rights, the welfare and happiness of your children, and your financial security. Let us use our unique experience and legal expertise to help you focus on your goals for your future and your family. Contact us today at (757) 425-5200 for more information about our monthly seminars, or to schedule a one-hour legal consultation with one of our Virginia women's divorce attorneys.