What is violence?

Domestic/family violence, includes violence towards a member of one’s family such as an intimate partner, a previous partner, children and other members of your family. Many people experience difficulties in managing anger and feel uncertain about what violence really is. Perhaps you are wondering if you have a problem with violence or if you often become too angry. Are you wondering if your children experience violence?

Most people think of hitting, pushing or kicking someone as violence. This is what we call physical violence. Violence can also include threatening, frightening, controlling or humiliating someone. These types of actions are called psychological violence. Breaking and destroying things in a way that frightens others, is often called material or property violence. Pressuring, harassing or forcing someone to take part in sexual acts they do not really want to, is called sexualised violence. Regardless of what type of violence is perpetrated, the family is left feeling frightened and unsafe as a result.

As such violence includes many different actions and behaviours. Many people, including those who perpetrate and are subjected to these types of actions, do recognise it as violence.

Physical Violence

Physical violence are actions that cause physical damage or pain, such as hitting, kicking, beating, strangling etc. But physical violence can also include physical actions towards someone such as grabbing someone, pushing, shaking or pull to the ground.

Psychological Violence

Psychological violence includes actions that leaves others feeling threatened or controlled. For example; threaten with violence, threaten with suicide or to kill one’s partner, shouting, aggressive body language, controlling what others can and can’t do. Psychological violence can also include humiliating behaviours, such as name calling, make fun of, reject and ignore the other.

Material Violence

This describes actions aimed at material things, in a way that feels frightening or controlling to others. For example, punching, kicking and breaking furniture, punching a wall or a table, slamming a door, throwing and breaking objects.

Sexualised Violence

Sexualised violence are actions that violate someone’s sexuality in some way. For example, sexually humiliating comments or gestures, pressuring or forcing someone to sexual acts or threaten someone to have intercourse.