Task Force Information

Animal Abuse Task Force

Clergy Task Force meets at noon on the 1st Tuesday of the month at the Family Justice Center (August 1, October 3 and December 5, 2006)

Education Task Force meets 2nd Monday of every month, at 2:30pm, at the Family Justice Center

Elder Abuse Task Force meets 4th Friday of every month, at 9am

Family Violence Helpline
865-521-6336

CCFV

400 Harriet Tubman St
Knoxville, TN 37915
865-215-6854

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Types of Violence

These types of violence can occur anywhere, Domestic Violence as a term relates to violence committed within the home. Thus, the CCFV focuses on 'family violence,' which incorporates all of the above violence types. This web site is meant primarily be a source of information for those experiencing family violence, but also a resource for those wishing to learn more about family violence. The pages within this site focus largely on how to get help, where to get help, how to help those who are victim to family violence, as well as information about getting involved in the fight to stop the fight.

Abuse: Systematic pattern of behaviors in a relationship that are used to gain and/or maintain control or power over another.

Violence:

• Physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging, or abusing

• The act or an instance of violent action or behavior.

• Abusive or unjust exercise of power

FORMS OF ABUSE

Emotional Abuse: Hurting another person's feelings by saying cruel, unfair comments or cursing, swearing and/or screaming at you

• Repeated harassment, interrogation or degradation

• Attacks on self-esteem and/or insults to your person (name-calling, put-downs, ridicule)

• Attacks on and/or insults about people you care for, your family and friends

• Threatening to "come out for you" at work or to your family

• Controlling and/or limiting your behavior (keeping you from using the phone or seeing friends, not letting you leave the house, following you and monitoring or limiting your phone conversations, checking the mileage on your car, etc.)

• Interrupting you while you are eating, forcing you to stay awake or to get up from sleep

• Blaming you for everything that goes wrong

• Forcing you to do degrading things (i.e. making you kneel, making you beg for money)

• Using the difference in physical size to intimidate you

• Criticizing your thoughts, feelings, opinions, beliefs and actions

• Treating you like a servant or "underling" in matters of household chores and decisions

• Being extremely jealous, constantly accusing you of flirting or of cheating

• Using money to control you (e.g.: taking money from you, giving you an allowance, controlling how extra money is spent, forcing you to ask for and account for any money you get, and acting like the work you do at home is of no economic value to the family),

• Telling you that you are "sick" and need therapy, or

• Using physical disabilities against you or putting you down for your disability.

Psychological abuse: any threat to do bodily harm to a partner, a child, a family member, friends, pets, or one's self (suicide). Psychological abuse involves not only hurt and anger, but also fear and degradation. The purpose of psychological abuse is to render you emotionally insecure about your own self-worth and to render you helpless and/or not able to escape further physical, sexual and/or psychological abuse.

• Threatening to punch, hit, slap or kick,

• Threatening to use a weapon,

• Threatening to harm him/her-self if you leave,

• Threatening to punish children to "get back" at you,

• Threatening to harm pets,

• Throwing objects in your direction,

• Vague threats such as: "You're going to get it," or "I'm really going to let you have it,"

• Harming a pet to "get back" at you

• Smashing and breaking things,

• Throwing objects around the room,

• Punching walls, slamming doors,

• Hiding, stealing or destroying your possessions,

• Sabotaging your car, or

• Any emotional abuse which in the past was a prelude to physical or sexual abuse.

Physical Abuse: any forceful or violent physical behavior.

• Slapping

• Hitting

• Punching

• Choking

• Pinching

• Pushing

• Shoving

• Biting

• Spitting

• Grabbing

• Burning

• Restraining

• Throwing objects at the partner

• Using or threatening to use a weapon of any kind (e.g., gun, knife, stick, ruler, belt, whip, etc.)

Sexual Abuse: any non-consenting sexual act or behavior

• You indicate "no" and your limits are not respected,

• You are sleeping,

• You are drunk or high and are unable to say "no,"

• You are afraid to say "no,"

• Your partner insists that you dress in a more sexual way than you wish to dress,

• Makes demeaning remarks about how you dress,

• Makes demeaning remarks about your body and/or body parts,

• Minimizes your feelings about sex,

• Questions you about your sexual history; blames you if you were sexually abused in the past or as a child, or criticizes you sexually

• Insists on touching you sexually when you do not want to be touched, either when the two of you are alone or in the presence of others,

• Calls you a whore or a slut, as affairs with other women (often flaunting them) after agreeing not to have sex with anyone but you,

• Physically attacking sexual parts of your body, (grabbing your breasts, pinching your buttocks, any touch that is unwanted), or

• Forcing you to perform any specific sexual act that you do not wish to do (for example oral sex, or acting out pornography).

FORMS OF VIOLENCE:

• Physical

• Sexual

• Verbal

• Psychological/emotional

• Spiritual

• Economic

• Social