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If someone says violence, the image that most
immediately comes to mind is one of an act causing bodily harm. What is less often thought of or considered, however, is non-physical
violence, or emotional abuse.
Difficult to identify
Violence against women—inside and outside the family—is defined by Health Canada as "acts that result, or are likely to result, in
physical, sexual and psychological harm or suffering to a woman, including threats of such an act, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty" in public or private life.
"Emotional abuse is based on power and control."
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Emotional abuse is difficult to address because it is not always easy to identify and not often reported, according to the National
Clearinghouse on Family Violence. Although, the effects of emotional abuse have only recently become understood, various surveys have
clearly indicated the extent of the problem. For example, the 19951 Canadian Women's Health Test, reported that 37 percent of 1,000 women
interviewed had experienced emotional or verbal abuse in a relationship within the previous five years.
What is emotional abuse?
Like all violence in relationships, emotional abuse is based on power and control. The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified
the following forms of emotional abuse, which can happen with or without physical and/or sexual abuse:
Rejecting
- refusing to acknowledge a person's presence, value or worth
- communicating to a person that she is useless or inferior
- devaluing her thoughts and feelings
Degrading
- insulting, ridiculing, name calling
- imitating and infantilising
- behaviour which diminishes the identity, dignity and self-worth of the person
Terrorizing
- inducing terror or extreme fear in a person
- coercing by intimidation
- placing or threatening to place a person in an unfit or dangerous environment
- stalking
Isolating
- physical confinement
- restricting normal contact with others
- limiting freedom within a person's own environment
Corrupting/exploiting
- socializing a person into accepting ideas or behaviour which are against the law
Denying emotional responsiveness
- being detached and uninvolved
- interacting only when necessary
- ignoring a person's mental health needs
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The cost is extreme
Even though it doesn't leave any physical scars, like other forms of violence, emotional abuse can be debilitating and harmful. Yet
without those physical scars, many women feel that what they are enduring is not really abuse. At the same time, continued abuse of any
kind makes a person feel so worthless that they may not consider asking for help.
The effects of emotional abuse can be serious and long lasting, and include:
- severe anxiety and depression
- fearfulness confusion, shame, self-blame, guilt, anger
- persistent headaches, nausea and stomach problems
- excessive drinking or other substance abuse
Women who are emotionally abused may also isolate themselves from friends and family, become passive or compliant. They may think and/or
talk about committing suicide.
What to do
If you suspect that you or someone you know is experiencing emotional abuse, there is help available. Among the places you can turn to
for help and advice are:
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Emotional abuse is real abuse. It takes courage to identify and discuss it, but doing so is the first step to breaking the cycle of
violence.
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1 Canadian Women's Health Test de 1995, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, pg. 75.
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This article was prepared by journalist Nora Underwood and reviewed by the Vancouver Public Library, the CHN 
