Someone you know may be in a violent relationship.
- His girlfriend is always checking up on him, calling or paging him, and demanding to know where he’s been and whom he‘s been with.
- He acts extremely jealous when she talks to other guys, even when only a friendly conversation.
- A friend you know seems to be: emotionally broken down; sad all of the time; constantly bruised; unusually quiet; extremely withdrawn; isolated; nervous when talking around theperson they’re dating; acting oddly; afraid.
- Your friend seems to be: detached from everyone and everything; constantly distracted; unwilling to listen to your advice about her relationship; uninterested in your observations; ill and out of school a lot; unable to stop crying.
- Her weight, appearance, or grades have changed dramatically since she started dating him.
- He always seems worried about upsetting her.
Since she started dating him, she frequently cancels plans with you and other friends at the last minute, giving reasons that sound untrue.
- He constantly apologizes for her behavior and makes excuses for her.
She has injuries she can’t explain, or the explanation she gives seems lame.
- You’ve seen him lose his temper and break or damage things when he’s angry.
- She seems depressed a lot since she’s been dating him.
- Since they’ve been dating, he’s given up things that used to be important to him, such as spending time with friends or the activities he used to participate in.
- She constantly worries about making him angry.
He constantly talks about how to do something harmful, or says how ‘cool’ violent acts are.
- Since he began dating her, he has become more and more isolated from everyone else.
- When she and her boyfriend are together with other people, he tells mean stories about her, calls her names like, “stupid,” “slut,” “dog,” or generally puts her down.
- Someone you know who is in a relationship suddenly seems to have noticeable medical problems: they’re always going to the doctor; are out sick a lot; show weight loss and/or hair loss.
- His / her partner has a history of being cruel or abusive in their past relationships.