Am I Being Abused?

It is not always easy to figure out if certain actions that your partner does would be considered abuse or not. You may make excuses for your partner’s behavior or convince yourself that you are overreacting and that what you are going through is “not so bad.” However, the general pattern of domestic violence is that abuse gets worse over time. If you can identify the signs of abuse early on in the relationship, you may have a better chance of getting out safely. This section offers a checklist of behaviors that could indicate that you are being abused, as well as signs of increased danger that could lead to you being seriously physically harmed or killed.