Page 21 - Delaware Lawyer - Spring 2023

These abuses are defined as follows: • Physical Abuse: Any act caus-
ing bodily injur y, such as hitting, punching, hair pulling, or denying medical care or forcing alcohol/ drug use.3
• Emotional Abuse: Words or ac- tions to undermine a person’s sense of self-worth or self-esteem, damaging a partner’s relationship with their children/family.
• Mental Abuse: Causing fear by intimidation, threatening physi- cal harm to himself/herself, the victim or their family or children
or pets; stalking or cyberstalking, gaslighting; isolating victim from friends, family, school and/or work.4
• Financial Abuse: Controlling fi- nancial resources by making or attempting to make a victim financially dependent by withhold- ing access to money or interfering with the victim’s attendance at school or employment.5
• Reproductive Abuse/Coercion:
Sabotaging the victim’s birth control efforts by demanding unprotected sex, lying about using birth control, hiding or destroying
birth control (e.g. flushing pills down the toilet or poking a hole in a condom).6
• SexualAbuse/Exploitation:Coerc- ing or attempting to coerce any sexual contact without consent or treating another in a sexually demeaning manner against his/ her will.7
• Stalking: Repeated, unwanted at- tention and contact by a partner that causes fear or concern for one’s own safety or the safety of someone close to the victim.8
• Cyberstalking: A course of con- SPRING 2023 DELAWARE LAWYER 19