Examining Your Relationship

Healthy Relationships
Warning Signs: Emotionally Abusive Relationships
Warning Signs: Physically Abusive Relationships
Warning Signs: Sexually Abusive Relationships

Healthy Relationships

In a healthy relationship, you should be able to:¹

• Express your opinions and have them be respected
• Have your needs be as important as your partner’s needs
• Grow as an individual in your own way
• Not be afraid of doing or saying "the wrong thing"
• Change your mind
• Feel confident about yourself when you are around your partner
• Not take responsibility for your partner’s behavior
• Not be physically, emotionally, or sexually abused
• Break up with or fall out of love with someone and not be threatened

Warning Signs: Emotionally Abusive Relationships²

You may be in an emotionally abusive relationship if your partner:

• Calls you names, insults you or continually criticizes you
• Does not trust you and acts jealous or possessive
• Tries to isolate you from family or friends
• Monitors where you go, whom you call and with whom you spend time
  
• Humiliates you in any way
• Does not want you to work
• Controls finances or refuses to share money
• Punishes you by withholding affection
• Expects you to ask permission
• Threatens to hurt you, the children, your family or your pets
• Threatens to hurt himself/herself if you break up

Warning Signs: Physically Abusive Relationships²

You may be in a physically abusive relationship if your partner has ever:

• Damaged property when angry (thrown objects, punched walls, kicked doors, etc.)
• Pushed, slapped, bitten, kicked or choked you
• Abandoned you in a dangerous or unfamiliar place
• Scared you by driving recklessly
• Used a weapon to threaten or hurt you
• Forced you to leave your home
• Trapped you in your home or kept you from leaving
• Prevented you from calling police or seeking medical attention
• Hurt your children
• Used physical force in sexual situations

Warning Signs: Sexually Abusive Relationships²

You may be in a sexually abusive relationship if your partner:

• Accuses you of cheating or is often jealous of your outside relationships
• Wants you to dress in a sexual way
• Insults you in sexual ways or calls you sexual names
• Has ever forced or manipulated you into to having sex or performing sexual acts
• Held you down during sex
• Demanded sex when you were sick, tired or after beating you
• Hurt you with weapons or objects during sex
• Involved other people in sexual activities with you
• Ignored your feelings regarding sex

If you think that you may be in an abusive relationship, help is available. Contact a member of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) at (330)672-8016 or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE(7233).

¹Adapted from TheRedFlagCampaign.org
²From the National Domestic Violence Hotline