The terms Family Violence and Domestic Violence are used interchangeably to refer to a complex intermix of harmful, violent, aggressive, and abusive behaviours within a relationship. Domestic violence is not a about a loss of control, nor is it a crime of passion. Domestic violence is a crime of power and control and the risk to victim-survivors significantly increases at the time of separation.
Victim-survivors of family violence (including children) are eligible for trauma counselling through NSW Victim Services. Depending on your circumstances, you may also be eligible for financial assistance via the Domestic Violence Immediate Needs Support Package. Please contact us for assistance with applications.
In addition to the above, we offer support and assistance for:
- Safety planning
- Identifying patterns of abuse
- Identifying and understanding the red flags in dangerous relationships
- Education and strategies for surviving narcissistic abuse
- Understanding cognitive dissonance
Below are a range of behaviours that one person can deliberately uses to threaten, control, intimidate or manipulate an intimate partner:
Physical Abuse
Punching; pushing; hitting; hair pulling; kidnapping; inflicting burns; choking; strangulation; damaging property, throwing items at or near a person.
Sexual Violence
Rape; sexual assaults; unwanted sexual touching, sexual harassment, sharing intimate images without consent, filming sexual acts without consent.
Emotional Abuse
Humiliation; gas lighting; mind games; manipulation; harassment; intimidation; stalking; possessiveness/jealousy; blaming the victim; threats to destroy possessions; threats to harm or kill family members or pets.
Verbal Abuse
Name calling; insults; yelling; swearing; malicious gossip; threats to disclose secrets; bullying.
Financial Abuse
Preventing or limiting access to money and/or bank accounts; questioning money spent; insufficient money to buy food and necessities; questioning bank statements; threatening to cut-off access to the home or finances if the abuse is reported; purchasing luxury items while forcing others to be denied basic essentials or their ‘fair share’; gambling excessively; withholding child support.
Social Abuse
Isolation; limiting contact with others, controlling and restricting access to family and friends; enforced confinement in the home; controlling the use of car and/or telephone; not allowing/enforcing religious or cultural practices; continual questioning about whereabouts and checking of phone messages and bills.
Coercive Control
Ongoing and repeated pattern of behaviour used to control or dominate another person, which can include financial control, threats, social isolation, physical violence, monitoring of movements, restricting freedom, gaslighting, monitoring technology, sexual violence, and/or withholding of basic needs such as food or medicine.
Non Fatal Strangulation
Non-fatal strangulation is the most lethal form of Intimate Partner Violence perpetrated against woman and is the ultimate form on intimidation and coercion.
In an Australian study between 2008-2010:
5% of all homicides involved strangulation
9% of domestic homicides involved strangulation.
According to Glass et al 2008, victims of previous non-fatal strangulation are 7 times more likely to be victim of homicide in the future.
The prevalence of non-fatal strangulation is 13 times higher in women than in men. (Patch, Anderson and Campbell, 2017) Therefore non-fatal strangulation is considered to be a gendered act of violence.
It is critical that a victim-survivor of strangulation, whether or not they have lost consciousness or have visible injuries, have an immediate medical assessment.
Would you like to refer to our Victim Support Unit?
Please note you can refer yourself to our service, as well as family and friends with consent to do so, or if you are an agency representative you can refer a client you are working with. An intake screening will take place to ensure eligibility prior to consultation with our Victim Support Unit.
Click on the corresponding button below and fill in as many details as possible so we can best assist you through intake.
(Select the above option also if you are a family member or friend)
