Warning signs

Below are some warning signs that may help you better understand your situation. Any one of these signs is serious. You do not need to experience several or all of them for your relationship to be considered abusive.

• You are afraid of your partner.
• You constantly “walk on eggshells” because of their mood swings.
• You spend your time analysing their mood, with the focus always on their needs.
• They lose their temper easily.
• They have hit you or nearly hit you and/or your children.
• Your partner was abusive in a previous relationship.
• They criticize your family and friends and/or make it difficult for you to see or speak to them.
• They call you names and threaten you and/or your children.
• They are jealous and accuse you of flirting or having affairs.
• They regularly criticize you in front of others—including how you look, dress, or your abilities as a mother.
• Your needs are seen as unimportant or are ignored, and they make all the decisions in the relationship.
• It’s hard for you to have time to yourself. When you do spend time away, they demand to know where you were and who you were with.
• They control your access to basic resources such as the car, family finances, food, phone, and internet.
• They pressured you into doing something you really didn’t want to do.
• They forced you to have sex with them or someone else. They coerced you into sexual activities that made you uncomfortable.
• They threatened you with deportation because of your immigration status.
• They try to control every aspect of your life—for example, whether and where you work; who you see and when; what you can spend; what you wear; and what you watch or listen to on the radio or TV.
• They demand to know your email and social media account passwords.
• They have threatened to kill you or to kill themselves if you leave them.