It can be difficult hear about physical abuse and the excuses that can go with the explanation.
He only hit me once.
He wouldn’t have hit me if I wouldn’t have _____________.
I shouldn’t have ___________________.
He “only” choked me….
Physical abuse is easier to recognize, but also comes with mental manipulation from the abuser. Please take a few moments to ready about Physical Abuse Red Flags.
Physical Abuse Red Flags
Most of us probably think we could spot physical abuse if it ever happened to us. But many survivors have said after the fact that they wrote off physical abuse as a “one-time thing” … until it happened again and again. Many of us don’t want to see that a person we trust and possibly love could hurt us, which is why physical abuse is often minimized, along with all the other forms of abuse that came before it. The problem is physical abuse is rarely a one-time thing. Abusers who begin to use physical abuse almost always escalate. And the likelihood of lethality, or murder, increases as the abuse becomes more severe.
Physical abuse can look like the following:
- Kicking
- Hitting
- Slapping
- Shoving
- Shaking
- Burning
- Hair-Pulling
- Strangling (even during sex)
- Restraining against one’s will, including locking a victim in a room or tying them up
- Using a weapon such as a knife or gun against a victim
- Throwing objects at or near a victim to scare them
- Threats of violence
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