More than 40 million Americans use online dating services or dating apps. As is the case when meeting someone new, whether online or offline, it’s wise to keep a few safety precautions in mind. Dating apps don’t conduct criminal background checks on users, so it’s up to each user to determine if they are comfortable meeting up with someone. However, it is important to remember that if you do experience sexual assault or violence while dating online or using an app, it is not your fault. (CLICK HERE for full article)

Whether you travel often or you’re getting ready for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, it’s important to think about safety as part of your travel preparations. The following tips can help travelers plan for a safe and comfortable trip and may reduce the risk of many different types of crimes, including sexual violence. (CLICK HERE for full article)

The abortion pill works up to 11 weeks of pregnancy. You can usually have your abortion in the privacy of your own home. (CLICK HERE for full article)

You can get an in-clinic abortion at many Planned Parenthood health centers. Our caring doctors and nurses are experts at providing safe abortions and providing support throughout the process. You can also get an abortion from some private doctors or gynecologists, family planning clinics, and abortion clinics. Contact your local Planned Parenthood for more information about where to get an abortion in your area. (CLICK HERE for full article)

How to identify manipulative tactics, behaviors, and people, & how to deal with them; crowdsourced by survivors. This guide will help you identify manipulative situations and find support to get yourself out of a controlling relationship. (CLICK HERE for full article).

A short guide that will give you practical and simple advice on how to better support a loved one in an abusive relationship. (CLICK HERE for full article).

Domestic Violence Safety Assessment Tool (DVSAT) is used by non-government service providers and government agencies other than NSW Police Force. The DVSAT has been designed for use in intimate partner violence situations. CLICK HERE for full article.

When you learn more about stalking behaviors, you’re more likely to notice them before they escalate, and you can take steps to protect yourself. If you discover that you are being currently being stalked—either in-person, online, or via technology—it can be unsettling and even dangerous. Consider taking steps to protect yourself or involve an authority figure who can help you. (CLICK HERE for full article)

We often get phone calls from people whose friends and/or family members are being abused by their partners. Here are some answers to common questions that we get. (CLICK HERE for full article)

Partner abuse is also called domestic violence, battering, intimate partner violence, and/or dating abuse. Partner abuse happens in all communities. It crosses all social, ethnic, racial, age, and economic lines. Size, strength, age, politics, gender presentation and expression, or personality does not determine whether someone can be abused or an abuser. Abuse is NOT more or less common in LGBQ/T relationships. (CLICK HERE for full article)

CLICK HERE for the full article answering frequently asked questions regarding restraining orders.

Gaslighting made the leap from psychological lingo to trendy buzzword with the 2016 presidential campaign. More recently, it has morphed into what Ackerman calls a “catchall phrase” — often used incorrectly by people referring to simple disagreements over issues or interactions that don’t meet gaslighting’s historical definition. Some mental health experts are concerned that overusing the term could obscure the abusive nature of gaslighting and reduce its power to help victims recognize ongoing manipulation. (CLICK HERE for full article)

Parenthood requires constant learning and growth – here are some tips for letting your children know the security and love he/she/they have always received is still intact and always will be. (CLICK HERE for full article)

Incels are misogynists who are deeply suspicious and disparaging of women, whom they blame for denying them their right to sexual intercourse. Theirs is a relatively new take on a “male supremacist” worldview, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The center, which closely tracks hate speech, reports that incels grew out of the pickup artist movement, which takes a manipulative approach to seduction, but is rejected by incels who find it too humanizing of women. At their most extreme, incels have advocated rape and other forms of violence against women. (CLICK HERE for full article).

Although some forms of abuse are easier to detect early on, in a lot of cases, acts of emotional abuse have a tendency to go unnoticed, even by those who fall victim to it. Unfortunately, when it comes to those closest to us, we forget to pay attention to toxic patterns as we lack objective vantage points. This may especially be the case if the perpetrator adds positive reinforcement to the mix in order to keep those affected by their unhealthy behaviour catching on. Even though emotional abuse knows no gendered boundaries, women are disproportionately vulnerable to it. (CLICK HERE for full article). 

Financial abuse—particularly coercing and controlling victims who may already have significant debt—is an extremely common form of domestic abuse. According to domestic violence experts, economic sabotage (for example, tanking a partner’s credit score) ranks among the top tactics used in abusive relationships. Sometimes, abusers take out massive loans in their victims’ name in an effort to entrap them in the relationship; other times, abusers attach their own debt to their victims, also as a means to entrap them. An early 2000s program meant to help with student debt made this even easier. (CLICK HERE for full article). 

Financial abuse is more common than you think. In one survey of domestic violence survivors, 99% said they’d been financially abused, in addition to experiencing physical and psychological harm. “It’s a way to restrict the survivor of abuse from leaving,” explains financial therapist Megan McCoy. Financial abuse happens when one partner in an intimate relationship controls the other partner’s access to money. Financial abuse also happens in families, where one family member withholds access to money from one or more family members. (CLICK HERE for full article).

Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is a type of anxious personality disorder. People with DPD often feel helpless, submissive or incapable of taking care of themselves. They may have trouble making simple decisions. But, with help, someone with a dependent personality can learn self-confidence and self-reliance. (CLICK HERE for full article).

Echoism is the opposite of narcissism. Echoists are often people who feel the need to take care of others at their own expense. They shy away from any form of praise or recognition, instead wishing to remain anonymous and in the shadows. So, where a narcissist is selfish and self-centered, an echoist is generally someone who feels uncomfortable in the spotlight or receiving praise or recognition of any kind. They have an almost phobic like fear of seeming narcissistic in any way. (CLICK HERE for full article).