Any relationship that has domestic violence as a factor is likely volatile and difficult to handle. When the possibility of divorce comes up, the offender may become more violent or aggressive in an attempt to control the victim.
What some people find challenging is determining the line between domestic abuse and bad behavior. There are some red flags that are markers of a violent or dangerous relationship. Here are four to remember.
1. Coercion and threats
A person who loves you is unlikely to use threats or coercion to get their way. For example, threatening to commit suicide if you don’t do what they ask is a manipulative way of coercing you to stay and comply.
2. Manipulation and emotional abuse
Emotional abuse has a few different forms. Some include making a person feel guilty, calling them names, making them think they are crazy, e.g., “gaslighting” or putting them down.
3. Using male privilege
In any relationship with a man, there is a possibility of him asserting the male privilege. What this means is that he may act as if he is the “master of the house,” demanding a kind of servitude or demanding that he be the one who gets to make all of the primary decisions for the household.
4. Denying a problem
Finally, there is denying, minimizing and blaming. Not taking your partner’s concerns seriously and making light of a distressing situation fall under this category.
These are just four of numerous red flags that can signal that abuse may be taking place in your relationship. If so, it’s a good time to figure a legal way out.
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