Who Are The Victims?

CHANCES ARE WE'RE ALL PART OF THE PROBLEM
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS NOT JUST A WOMAN THING
MEN ARE VICTIMS AS WELL!
Your sister, brother, mother, father, friend, lover, co-worker, doctors,
lawyers, and the list goes on.
Victims can be of any age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment or marital status. Although both men and women can be abused, most victims are women. Children in homes where there is domestic violence are more likely to be abused and/or neglected. Most children in these homes know about the violence. Even if a child is not physically harmed, they may have emotional and behavior problems.

Typical traits, attitudes and behavior patterns of the victim.

• Intense need for love and affection.
• Low self esteem.
• Believe that they don't deserve better treatment.
• Childhood physical, emotional or sexual abuse.
• Enforced isolation creating resentment.
• Strong need for a relationship to validate them.
• Gain a sense of worth by care-taking the abuser.
• Inability to set and enforce interpersonal boundaries.
• Difficulty expressing anger, tendency to internalize it, act it out in other ways.
• Loyalty to the abuser takes precedence over emotional or physical safety.
• Belief that "it will change if I just try harder."
• Repeated attempts to leave the relationship.
• Inability to follow through with leaving - return to the abuser again and again.
• Clinical depression, self-medication.
• Suicidal ideation or attempts.