After the police arrive, you should tell the investigating officer if you, your child, or any other household resident has been injured. You should also tell the officer if you feel that you are going to be in danger after the officer leaves.

Signs & Symptoms of Abuse

Domestic violence is almost always about the abuser trying to assert their power over their victims by using physical or sexual abuse. The abuse usually starts small and then escalates.

You are abused if:

• You are called names, ridiculed, or put down.

• You are not free to come and go as you wish.

• You are followed everywhere you go.

• You are pushed, slapped, kicked, strangled, or manhandled in any way.

• Someone threatens you.

• Someone damages your possessions.

Abusers assert their power by:

1. Using Coercion & Threats

• Threatening to leave her.

• Threatening to report her to welfare.

• Threatening to commit suicide.

• Threatening to hurt her.

• Coercing her to drop her abuse charges.

• Coercing her to do illegal things.

2. Using Intimidation

• Making her afraid by using looks, actions, & gestures.

• Making her afraid by smashing things & destroying property.

• Making her afraid by abusing pets.

• Making her afraid by displaying weapons.

3. Using Isolation

• Controlling what she reads.

• Controlling where she goes.

• Limiting her outside involvement.

• Controlling who she can see & who she can talk to.

• Controlling everything that she does.

• Using jealousy to justify their own actions.

4. Using Emotional Abuse

• Making her feel bad about herself.

• Making her feel guilty.

• Putting her down & calling her names.

• Making her think that she is crazy.

• Playing mind games.

• Humiliating her.

5. Using Economic Abuse

• Preventing her from getting or keeping a job.

• Taking any money that she receives.

• Making her ask him for any money she needs.

• Not letting her know about or have access to the family income.

6. Using Male Privilege

• Making all of the decisions.

• Treating her like a servant.

• Acting like the Master of the Castle.

• Being the one to define the man's and woman's roles in the family.

7. Using Children

• Making her feel guilty about the children.

• Using the children to relay messages.

• Using visitation to harass her.

• Threatening to lie about her to child protective services.

• Threatening to take her children away.

8. Minimizing, Denying, & Blaming

• Not taking her concerns seriously & making light of the abusive behavior.

• Saying that the abuse never happened.

• Shifting responsibility for abusive behavior by saying that she caused it.

You have a right to:

• Ask the local prosecutor to file a criminal complaint against the person who committed the family violence.

• Apply to a court for an order to protect you. You may want to consult with a legal aid office, a prosecuting attorney, or a private attorney. If a family or household member assaults you and is arrested, you may request a Magistrates Order for Emergency Protection be issued. Please inform the investigating officer if you want a Magistrates Order for Emergency Protection. You do not have to be present when the order is issued. A violation of certain provisions of court-ordered protection may be considered a felony.

The court can order that:

• The abuser not commit further acts of violence.

• The abuser not threaten, harass, or contact you at home.

• The abuser leave your household.

• The abuser not interfere with your children or property and it can give temporary custody of the children to you.

Family Violence Facts

• A woman is battered every 12 seconds.

• Women are six times more likely than men to experience violence committed by an intimate partner.

• An average of seven women die every day at the hands of their partner.

• 42% of murdered women are killed by their intimate partner.

• Battering causes more injury to women than auto accidents, muggings, and rapes combines.

For Help Call
940-325-1306

Our shelter is located in Mineral Wells, Texas which is about 52 miles west of Fort Worth. If you need to find a shelter which is located closer to your area, please click this link and you will be taken to a list of all the shelters in Texas.

Would you like to help make a difference in your community?

Call the phone number above if you would like to volunteer your time or make a donation to Hope, Inc.