Understanding Abuse

Abuse is a deliberate behavior in which one person chooses to dominate, control or harm another. Perpetrators abuse against the will of victims, who never ask or choose to be abused. People being abused tend to know when behaviour is abusive. Trust your gut and remember you are the expert on your own life.

Family violence is abuse at the hands of someone close to you. This could be your partner, adult children, parent, in-law, friend, sister or brother. The only person responsible for abuse is the abusive person. “Domestic violence” is a term often used interchangeably with “family violence”. Domestic violence sometimes is limited to intimate partner violence.

Abuse is more than hitting or slapping. It comes in many forms, click here for a list of the different forms of abuse.

The only person responsible for abuse is the abusive person. If you want to talk about if you are in an abusive relationship, you can call our 24-Hour Family Violence Helpline at 403.234.SAFE (7233), Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Text: 403.604.6689