Abuse is not limited to beatings and violence. Abuse comes in many forms. While you may know that your spouse has claimed that you're committing abuse against her, the fact is that you don't believe that's true. Here are four kinds of abuse that can take place in a home. It's possible to seek protection against these kinds of abuse, which could impact a person's parental rights.
1. Sexual abuse
It might seem like this is impossible when you're in a married, consensual relationship, but sexual abuse still happens among married and committed couples. Sexual abuse occurs any time someone forces a partner to participate in a sexual act when that individual does not want to participate. For example, if you ask your wife to participate in sexual activities and she says no, then forcing her to do so is sexual abuse.
2. Threatening abuse
Threats are abusive, too. They put emotional and psychological strain on a relationship. If a spouse says, "The next time you do that, I'll hit you!" then you may feel particularly wary of your spouse or even fear for your life. Threats of sexual or physical abuse are both against the law. These threats don't need to be carried out.
3. Emotional abuse
Emotional abuse causes internal turmoil in the victim. Emotional abuse is usually used to control a person. For example, if you wanted to stop your wife from going to the store, you might say, "If you go to the store again, you really are stupid." This degrading talk is abusive. Other kinds of emotional abuse include name-calling, intimidation and stalking. It's also emotional abuse to prevent a person from seeing friends or family members. There are exceptions to every rule, but in most cases, the court wants to know that each individual in a case is being respectful of the other party's boundaries and rights as an individual.
4. Physical abuse
Physical abuse is one of the main forms of abuse that people recognize as dangerous in a relationship. Physical abuse is when you grab, push, pull on or otherwise injure or try to control a person with force. Other kinds of physical abuse include attempting to burn or kick a person, punching an individual or even tying someone up against his or her will.
If you're accused of domestic violence, you have the right to defend yourself, just as those who are victims have a right to seek a protective order. Your attorney can help you in whatever situation you're in.