Quick Facts | victim-services

What is Domestic Violence?

What is Sexual Assault?

According to the United States Department of Justice domestic violence is "a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.

Physical Abuse: Hitting, slapping, shoving, grabbing, pinching, biting, hair pulling, etc are types of physical abuse. This type of abuse also includes denying a partner medical care or forcing alcohol and/or drug use upon him or her.
Sexual Abuse: Coercing or attempting to coerce any sexual contact or behavior without consent. Sexual abuse includes, but is certainly not limited to, marital rape, attacks on sexual parts of the body, forcing sex after physical violence has occurred, or treating one in a sexually demeaning manner.
Emotional Abuse: Undermining an individual's sense of self-worth and/or self-esteem is abusive. This may include, but is not limited to constant criticism, diminishing one's abilities, name-calling, or damaging one's relationship with his or her children.
Economic Abuse: Is defined as making or attempting to make an individual financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources, withholding one's access to money, or forbidding one's attendance at school or employment.
Psychological Abuse: Elements of psychological abuse include - but are not limited to - causing fear by intimidation; threatening physical harm to self, partner, children, or partner's family or friends; destruction of pets and property; and forcing isolation from family, friends, or school and/or work."

For more resources on domestic violence follow one of the links below or contact the Fremont County Alliance Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

The United States Department of Justice defines sexual assault as "any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape."

Following a sexual assault or rape a victim's body goes through a trauma response which can include:

Body: trauma response (fight or flight), injury, pregnancy, STD’s, nausea, soreness, exhaustion
Emotions: shock, numb, guilt, fear/terror, out of control, powerless/helpless, dirty, ashamed, anxiety
Thoughts: disbelief, self-doubt, short attention span, racing thoughts, What if?, Where is he?, What’s going to happen now?, What should I do?, How are they going to react?
Behaviors: eating (less/more), sleeping (less/more), crying, laughing, screaming, joking, tense, shaking/trembling, restless, agitated, silent, chatty
Environment: school/work (when to return/fears about returning), stressed by children or other life demands, need to spend time within criminal justice system
Intimacy: varying needs with being touched and left alone, trust and interpersonal difficulties
Family: take over, control, revenge, questions, shock

Common myths often make victims hesitant to report. The idea that there is a "true victim" or one kind of victim is nonsense. Victims of sexual assault and rape cross all socioeconomic barriers and each victim's experience is different. For more resources on rape and sexual assault follow one of the links below or contact the Fremont County Alliance Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Domestic violence relationships are characterized by periods of violence, followed by a "honeymoon phase" where an abuser becomes loving, compassionate, and doting. This encourages the victim to stay because they have hope and believe the batterer can change. The tension begins to build immediately, and this can go on for hours, weeks or days. Eventually the tension explodes into another violent encounter, where the pattern begins to repeat.

Myth: Women are most likely to be raped outside, after dark and by a stranger, so women shouldn't go out alone at night.

Fact: Only around 10% of rapes are committed by 'strangers'. Around 90% of rapes are committed by known men, and often by someone who the survivor has previously trusted or even loved. People are raped in their homes, their workplaces and other settings where they have previously felt safe. Rapists can be friends, colleagues, clients, neighbours, family members, partners or exes. Risk of rape shouldn't be used as an excuse to control women's movements and restrict their rights and freedom.