When people think about domestic violence occurring within couple relationships, they often think about physical or sexual violence. Emotional abuse is a non-physical form of violence that can have devastating and long lasting effects on those who experience it.1 Emotional abuse can cover a wide range of behaviours or actions aimed at intimidating, controlling, isolating or manipulating a person.
Recent amendments to the Family Law Act 1975,2 in particular the inclusion of emotional abuse within family violence, recognises the harm that emotional abuse can cause within a family, and allows more to be done to protect children and other family members within the family law system.
This article focuses on people aged 18 years or over and their experience of emotional abuse by a current or previous partner since the age of 15.
Please follow this link to view the full paper: Emotional Abuse