Physical Abuse:

• Hitting; pinching; pushing; punching; shooting; stabbing; cutting; choking; slapping; burning; shoving; using a weapon; physically restraining; intentional interference with basic needs (e.g. food, medicine, sleep)

Isolation/Restricting Freedom:

• Controlling contacts with friends and family, access to information and participation in groups or organizations, locking up in a room/ restricting mobility; monitoring telephone calls

 Psychological and Emotional Abuse:

• Frequently ignoring woman’s feelings; ridiculing or insulting woman’s most valued beliefs, gender, sexuality, ability, age or sexual orientation; ridiculing or insulting woman’s religion, race, heritage, class or first language; withholding approval, appreciation, and affection; continually criticizing woman, calling woman names, shouting; humiliating in private or in public; refusing to socialize; keeps woman from working, controls the money, makes all decisions; tries to prevent woman from seeing her friends and family; regularly threatens to leave  tells woman to leave; manipulates  woman with lies and contradictions; uses intimidating facial expressions and/or body posture; accuses woman of being unfaithful; uses sexualized language; verbally abuses the children and pets in household*

Stalking/Harassing Behaviour:

• Following; turning up at workplace or house; parking outside; repeated phone calls or mail to victim and/or family, friends, colleagues; sending unwanted gifts; stealing mail; threatening harm to the person being stalked, her family, friends, pets; harassing her employer, colleagues or family; vandalizing her car or home; harming pets; assault (physical, sexual, emotional); kidnapping, holding hostage**

 Threats and Intimidation:

• Threatening to harm partner, self or others (children, family, friends, pets); threatening to make reports to authorities that jeopardize child custody, immigration or legal status; threatening to disclose HIV status, threatening to reveal sexual orientation to family, friends, neighbours and/or employers

 Economic Abuse:

• Controlling or stealing money; taking your pay cheque; withholding money from you so that you have no food or cannot get necessary medical treatment; fostering dependency

 Sexual Abuse:

• Sexual touching or sexual activity when you do not consent to it

 Sexual Abuse Harassment:

• Forcing sex or specific acts, pressuring into unwanted sexual behaviour, criticizing sexual performance

Property Destruction:

• Destroying mementos, breaking furniture or windows, throwing or smashing objects, trashing clothes or other possessions

*http://www.calss.itoronto.ca/pamphlets/

**Metrac. Frequently Asked Questions about Stalking and Criminal Harassment. www.metrac.org