Domestic violence laws in California apply to any crimes committed against one’s intimate partner, child, or parent. For purposes of D.V. law, intimate partners are people who are or were romantically involved including spouses, divorcees, girlfriends, boyfriends, cohabitants, and people who have children together. They may be gay or straight. Most domestic violence charges usually involve some type of emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse is commonly referred to as psychological or verbal abuse. This type of domestic abuse is arguably more harmful than physical abuse. Emotional abuse may be widely underreported, as it is difficult to identify and prove and usually conflated with other types of abuse.

One reason that emotional abuse is so harmful is that that it severely damages a person’s self-esteem. Such damage leads the individual to believe that he or she is stupid or worthless, and in some cases, that the abuse is deserved. Emotional abuse occurs when an individual intimidates, threatens and/or harasses an intimate partner or other family member to gain control over that person. Psychological abuse takes many forms, including shaming, isolating that person from others, destroying the individual’s personal property, mocking or criticizing another person, blaming another for one’s own violent actions, and making blackmail type threats (the abuser threatens harm against self, the intimate partner, or their children). An emotional reaction by the victim, such as tears or apologies, may cause the perpetrator to ridicule the partner or other family member even further. This additional abuse can destroy the victim’s otherwise low self-esteem.

One of the most shocking things about emotional intimate partner abuse is that many victims do not leave the abuser. Multiple incidents of abuse have conditioned them to believe that they are in a hopeless situation. They may feel that no one else will want to be with them and that they are incapable of being on their own. These false beliefs are strengthened in the honeymoon phase when the perpetrator emphatically states that he or she can’t live without the abused partner.

A victim of emotional abuse who doesn’t leave his or her abuser may also suffer from a psychological condition known as battered person’s syndrome or BPS. In cases of BPS, the victim has been abused multiple times and feels that he or she is completely at fault and deserves the abuse. The syndrome is often offered as an explanation of why the victim doesn’t leave the relationship.

Emotional abuse is not limited to intimate partners. A perpetrator can engage in child abuse or elder abuse as well. The first occurs when the abuser threatens, shames, intimidates, or in any other way psychologically harms a child, and the second occurs when that same abuse is targeted toward a person’s parent, grandparent, or other caregiver.

Emotional abuse can create certain behaviors in people who regularly experience such abuse, regardless of whether they are adults or children. Victims of emotional domestic abuse will usually have extremely low self-esteem, experience difficulty trusting others or forming new relationships, often feel anxious and depressed, and may develop serious health problems. The children of victims of psychological abuse suffer from many of the same symptoms and may experience a multitude of emotional, behavioral, developmental, and academic problems. Emotionally abused children have a higher rate of suicide attempts.

Emotional abuse is a serious issue that affects the entire family. Fortunately, there are people who can help. The experienced attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm have counseled many victims and perpetrators of emotional abuse as to their legal options. They can find resources to help deal with the ramifications of psychological abuse and will help an individual charged with an intimate partner abuse crime by formulating an effective defense. Contact the criminal defense lawyers at the Kavinoky Firm today and do the right thing for yourself and your family.