Domestic violence is a pattern of controlling behavior by one person who has or had a personal, intimate or family relationship with another person. This may be a spouse, an ex-spouse, a live-in partner, or someone with a child in common. Domestic violence may include making threats to loved ones, slapping, strangling, pushing, holding down, kicking, forcing or pressuring for sex when sex is not desired or any other types of unwanted touching. Rape is often a form of violence used in intimate relationships.

When responding to domestic violence calls it is important to assure the victim that they are not alone before the interview. Once the victim is informed that other people have been there, the communications between the victim and the police officer taking the report should go smoothly. Look for the signs of Physical, Mental, and Social abuse. Removing the victim from the home environment for the interview is always a good practice.

“RED FLAG LIST”

To help you understand your victim these red flags can help you decide how much danger they are in. You are not only dealing with the current act of domestic violence you must keep in mind the future acts of violence. The more red flags you check the more danger your victim is in.

__ Does your partner tease you in a harmful way in public or private?

__ Does your partner call you names like “stupid” of “bitch”?

__Does your Partner acts jealous in front of your friends, family or co-workers?

__Does your Partner gets angry about your clothes or how you wear your hair?

__Does your Partner read your mail or goes through your purse or other personal things?

__Does your Partner check up on you by calling, driving by or getting someone else to check?

__Does your Partner makes important family decisions without you?

__Has your partner gone places with you just to “keep an eye on you”?

__Does your Partner insists on knowing whom you talk to on the phone?

__Does your Partner keeps money from you, keep you in dept of has “money secrets”?

__Has your partner kept you from getting a job or caused you to lose your job?

__Have you lost friends or do you no longer see some of your family because of your partner?

__Does your Partner get mad so easily that you fell like you are “walking on eggshells”?

__Does your Partner blames you for his problems, his moods or his abusive behavior?

__Does your Partner accuse you of seeing someone else?

__Does your Partner often drinks, uses drugs?

__Does your Partner insists that you drink or do drugs with him?

__Is your partner like a “Jekyll and Hyde” acting one way in front of people and another way when you are alone?

__Does your Partner hit the walls, drive dangerously or do other things to scare you?

__Does your Partner threatens to hurt you, your children, your pets or other family members?

__Does your partner ever destroyed, sold or thrown away any of your belongings?

__Does your Partner deny hurting you or “make light” of hurting you?

__Has your partner promised to stop the violence more than once, only to hurt you again?

__Does your partner have access to firearms or other weapons?

__Does your Partner forces you to have sex when you don’t want to?

__Does your Partner have a history of violence that has become worse over time?

__Does your Partner threatened to kill you or commit suicide if you ever leave him?

__Has your partner ever put his hands around your throat?

Do not forget to document victim’s spontaneous statements.

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