Signs of abuse
Domestic violence can be perpetuated in various forms ranging from physical, sexual and psychological mistreatment to emotional and verbal abuse. Men and women should look out for these signs of a possible abusive partner:

Isolation: Keeping a victim away from family and friends, monitoring phone calls, reading mail, controlling where the victim goes or taking a victim's keys or passport;

Coercion: Making the victim feel guilty, sulking, manipulating children and other family members and insisting on being right all the time;

Abusing trust: Lying, breaking promises, being unfaithful or overly jealous;

Emotional withholding: Not giving compliments or ignoring, not respecting the victim's opinions or taking their concerns seriously;

Destruction of property: Destroying furniture, punching walls, throwing things or abusing pets;

Economic control: Not paying bills, not giving the victim money or letting them work, forbidding the victim from going to school or getting job training;

Harassment: Stalking, embsing the victim in public and keeping tabs on the victim at all times;

Threats and intimidation: Threatening to harm the victim's children or other family members, intimidating with physical size, shouting, owning weapons and threatening to use them;

Self destructive behavior: Abusing drugs or alcohol, threatening suicide or other harm, driving recklessly or deliberately causing trouble.

Where to go for help

Love is Not Enough
Valerie Nicholas
202-590-8769
www.loveisnotenough.org

Laurel Police Department
301-498-0092

Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services
301-490-5551 or 301-490-0877

Prince George's County Hotline
866-382-7474

Prince George's Family Crisis Center
301-779-2100

House of Ruth
240-450-3270

Maryland Network Against
Domestic Violence
800-Mdhelps or 301-352-4574

Howard County Hotline
410-997-2272 or 800-752-0191

Howard County Domestic
Violence Center
410-997-0304

Anne Arundel County Hotline
410-222-6800

Montgomery County Hotline
240-777-4195 (day); 240-777-4673 (evenings and weekends)

Abused Persons Program
240-777-4210

National Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-7

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