Office of the Prosecuting Attorney

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Questions to ask yourself:

• Are you ever afraid of your partner?
• Has your partner ever actually hurt or threatened to hurt you physically or someone you care about?
• Does your partner ever force you to engage in sexual activities that make you uncomfortable?
• Do you constantly worry about your partner's moods and change your behavior to deal with them?
• Does your partner try to control where you go, what you do and who you see?
• Does your partner constantly accuse you of having affairs?
• Have you stopped seeing family or friends to avoid your partner's jealousy or anger?
• Does your partner control your finances?
• Does he/she threaten to kill him/herself if you leave?
• Does your partner claim his/her temper is out of control due to alcohol, drugs or because he/she had an abusive childhood?

If you answer yes to some or all of these questions, you could be suffering abuse. Remember you are not to blame and you need not face domestic violence alone.

How Common is Domestic Violence?

According to a National Violence Against Women Survey, 22% of women are physically assaulted by a partner or a date during their lifetime and nearly 5.3 million partner victimizations occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older, resulting in 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths.

• Nearly 25% of women have been raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner during their lives.
• 15.4% of gay men, 11.4% of lesbians and 7.7% of heterosexual men are assaulted by a date or intimate partner during their lives.
• More than 1 million women and 371,000 men are stalked by partners each year.

If you have questions about domestic violence, or need further information, you can contact the Kalamazoo YWCA at 269-385-2869

NOTE: This information comes from the American Psychiatric Association, 2005