What is domestic abuse and VAWG
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What is VAWG?
The term ‘violence against women and girls’ covers a range of crimes, with the common theme that they disproportionately affect women and girls, however anyone can experience most forms of VAWG, including:
- Rape and sexual violence
- Sexual and other forms of harassment, including sexual exploitation and public sexual harassment
- Stalking
- ‘Honour’-based abuse, female genital mutilation, and forced marriage
- Domestic abuse
It can happen in relationships, with family members or ex-partners. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone.
What is domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse is a pattern of behaviours making it difficult for the person experiencing abuse to have control over their own life or leave the relationship.
These behaviours can be:
- controlling
- coercive
- threatening
- degrading
- violent
Domestic abuse can include, but is not limited to, the following:
- controlling or monitoring your daily activities and behaviour, including dictating what you can wear, who you can see etc
- controlling your access to finances, transport, education, work
- isolating you from family, friends and professionals who may be trying to offer support, intercepting messages or phone calls
- hostile behaviours or silent treatment
- violent acts or threats of violence towards you, someone else or your pet
- unwanted sexual contact, demands or rape
- interfering with or preventing a victim from regularising their immigration status so that they become economically dependent
- monitoring use of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication
- abusive, insulting, threatening or degrading language
Our vision is for Barnet to be a borough where everyone can live free of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.