Experiencing violence

Domestic and/or family violence is any abusive behaviour in a family or intimate relationship where one person attempts to gain and maintain control over another. The violence is not limited to physical violence or sexual assault, it can also include emotional abuse and social or financial control.   How will you know if you are using...

Below are some common excuses used when violence erupts in a relationship.   Partner blaming “They made me do it” It’s very common for people who use violence and abuse in their relationship to blame their partner. They may say that they are subjected to very annoying behaviour and their partner riles them up or deliberately...

In life there are essentially four decision making principles that give us an idea about how much influence we can have in different situations. These four principles are: Given, Input, Negotiate and Self.

Tough times don’t excuse tougher times at home. Even in crisis there’s no place for abuse or domestic violence. Everyone has the right to be free from harm and to live without fear of violence or abuse. All victims need compassionate and highly responsive support. The Help is Here campaign provides information on support services...

Families may find their physical and mental health impacted by crisis. This can mean we are less focussed on how we relate to our partners, children or others in our family. However, it’s important we work to maintain harmony in our closest relationships, as they will likely be our biggest support through difficult times.

It’s hard to face up to your own actions. You might want to deny responsibility for your behaviour. Partner blaming is often the most common way to do this: You think they need to change – to stop or start doing something so you won’t be triggered You’d rather focus on their behaviour You minimise...

Being honest with yourself about what has been happening is the first big step towards making the change that needs to happen. The second big step is telling someone else about what’s been happening. It takes a lot of courage to open up. Some people, when first opening up about abuse and domestic violence dive...

“I thought if they wanted my help they would ask for it… all along I had a gut feeling something was wrong but he was always so nice to us. How could he be such a great mate and do something like that?” You might think it’s best not to say anything because you might...

‘Time Out’ is a process of temporarily removing yourself physically from an anger-provoking situation in order to calm yourself before returning. Abuse is not always physical. The bottom line is that abuse is when someone else is scared of you, your behaviour or actions, or is afraid of what you might do when you are...