It is characterized by acts of violence, power and coercion intended to control another person’s behavior” (Powell and Smith 2011 p1). There are five different forms of domestic violence including physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological. Powell and Smith (2011) explain that while there are five different forms of abuse, the victim is most likely to experience various types of the abuse if they have already experienced one. The first type, physical abuse, is described as biting, slapping, restraining, shoving, hitting, and/or the threat of physical violence. Distinct signs of physical abuse may include any cuts, bruises, swelling and/or broken or fractured bones. Sexual abuse is explained as rape, attempted rape, threats of sexual assault, and forcing one to perform sexual acts. Signs of sexual abuse are much less obvious compared to physical abuse, especially because of feelings of embarrassment and fear. The third type of domestic violence is emotional. Emotional abuse is done by name-calling, non-stop criticisms, and making the victim feel worthless. By making the victim feel badly about him or herself, it also makes them believe they deserve to be treated that way causing the victim to stay in the relationship. When the perpetrator does not allow the victim to become financially independent from them, this is economic abuse. The victim is forced …show more content…
Research data proves that the severity of violence is inversely related to social class (Borgrad 1999 p.278). Differences between social classes and domestic violence are for the most part seen in the causes of abuse and the types of abuse. Many studies have been conducted in order to measure the different influencing factors of domestic violence depending on socioeconomic status. The various findings support that social status is a main contributor to the risk one has of being exposed to domestic