At some point in their lives, many Kentucky residents experience some form of domestic violence when in relationships. The types can include physical domestic violence, sexual domestic violence, threatening domestic violence and emotional domestic violence. Each type of domestic violence has potentially devastating effects that could impact a person’s ability to live a normal life after-the-fact.
Physical domestic violence is marked by a person’s intentional use of force to cause harm or injury to another person. Some abusers can use weapons to cause harm, though others use their size and physical strength to cause harm. Sexual domestic violence occurs when one person forces another person to engage in sex or a sex act that he or she did not consent to. This also includes forcibly having sex with someone who is not able to consent or refuse, such as a person with a disability.
Threatening domestic violence occurs when a person uses intimidation to convey the threat of harm. For example, stalking is considered to be threatening. Finally, emotional domestic violence, also called psychological domestic violence, occurs when an abuser verbally threatens, humiliates or demeans another person in an attempt to exert control. Denying a person access to money, family and friends or other resources is considered to be emotional abuse.
When a married person believes that he or she is a victim of domestic violence, a protective order can be requested. This is often a prelude to a divorce, and if the victim is a parent of minor children, an attorney can point that out to the court when requesting sole physical custody.