emotional child abuse Archives

When domestic violence enters a marriage, it can significantly affect the divorce process, making it crucial to have a clear understanding of your legal rights and options.

Nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience severe intimate partner violence. Domestic violence is a widespread problem that touches people from all backgrounds. Its effects cause physical harm and emotional wounds that are endured for years.

As we recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October, it’s essential to understand your legal rights, especially when facing divorce. At Masters Law Group, our experienced divorce attorneys are here to answer the top four questions about domestic violence and divorce. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence involves a pattern of abusive behavior used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. It can take many forms, including:

Physical Abuse: Hitting, slapping, choking, or any form of physical harm.
Emotional Abuse: Verbal attacks, manipulation, isolation, threats, and undermining a person’s sense of self-worth.
Sexual Abuse: Forcing a partner into sexual activity against their will.
Financial Abuse: Controlling or restricting a spouse’s access to financial resources.
Psychological Abuse: Intimidation, stalking, or constant threats.

Domestic violence is not limited to physical harm. Emotional and psychological abuse can be just as damaging, leaving long-term effects on the victim’s well-being. Recognizing the signs of domestic violence is the first step toward seeking help and protecting yourself and your family. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most commonly asked questions related to divorce and domestic violence.

1. What Effect Does Domestic Violence Have on the Divorce Rate?

Domestic violence—whether physical, emotional, or psychological—often leads to the breakdown of a marriage. Victims may feel unsafe, trapped, or unable to continue the relationship, pushing them toward divorce as a means of escape. Beyond the personal and emotional toll, domestic violence creates an environment of fear and control. This can make it impossible for the marriage to survive.

Research consistently shows that marriages affected by domestic violence have a significantly higher likelihood of ending in divorce. According to a survey published in the National Library of Medicine, 24% of divorces are directly attributed to domestic violence. In these situations, divorce can be a crucial step toward safety and healing for victims. Divorce can also offer legal protections, such as orders of protection. An order of protection can help survivors secure physical and emotional distance from their abuser.

2. How Do You Prove Emotional Abuse in Divorce?

Proving emotional abuse in divorce can be challenging. However, it is not impossible. Emotional abuse can manifest in many ways, including isolation, manipulation, threats, verbal attacks, and controlling behavior. To prove emotional abuse in divorce proceedings, individuals can present various forms of evidence:

Documentation: Keep a journal or records detailing instances of emotional abuse, including dates, times, and descriptions of incidents.
Witness Testimony: Family members, friends, or colleagues who witnessed the abusive behavior can provide testimony.
Professional Reports: Reports from mental health professionals who have treated the victim for emotional distress can be valuable.
Text Messages/Emails: Written communications that show patterns of manipulation, threats, or degrading language can be powerful evidence in court.

An experienced divorce attorney can help victims gather and present this evidence to help ensure their voices are heard and their rights protected during divorce proceedings.

3. Does Emotional Abuse Affect Divorce Settlement?

Emotional abuse can have a significant impact on divorce proceedings, even in a no-fault state like Illinois. While proving abuse isn’t necessary to file for divorce, it can still influence important aspects of the settlement, particularly regarding parental responsibilities and financial arrangements. Here are two key ways emotional abuse may affect a divorce settlement.

Parental Responsibilities

Although Illinois no longer requires fault to be proven for divorce, it can still be relevant in determining how certain aspects of the divorce are resolved. In Illinois, the courts prioritize the child’s best interests when deciding parental responsibilities and parenting time. Emotional abuse—whether directed at the other spouse or the children—can heavily influence these decisions.

If one spouse has been emotionally abusive, it is pertinent to how parenting time is allocated. This may lead to restrictions on visitation rights. These restrictions may include:

Supervised Visitation: The abusive parent may only be allowed supervised visits.
Counseling Requirements: The court may require counseling for the abusive parent before modifying visitation.

Financial Matters

Although Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, emotional abuse can still play a role in how the court views financial matters such as property division and spousal support. While judges typically focus on equitable division of assets, emotional abuse may influence these decisions in the following ways:

Property Division: In Illinois, the length of the marriage can impact how property is divided. If emotional abuse caused one spouse to leave the marriage prematurely, shortening its duration, this could affect the division of marital property.
Prenuptial Agreements: Illinois courts generally uphold prenuptial agreements as long as they were entered fairly, with both parties having independent legal representation and full knowledge of each other’s finances. However, if there is evidence that a spouse was emotionally manipulated into signing the agreement, the court may invalidate or alter certain provisions.

If you’re facing emotional abuse in your marriage and are concerned about how it might affect your divorce settlement or parental responsibilities, it’s crucial to consult a divorce attorney.

4. What is Emotional Battered Wife Syndrome?

Emotional Battered Wife Syndrome describes the psychological impact of long-term emotional abuse within a marriage. While “battered wife” specifically refers to women, the syndrome can apply to anyone who has endured prolonged emotional abuse. Emotional Battered Wife Syndrome is characterized by:

Feelings of Helplessness: Victims may feel trapped in the relationship due to fear, shame, or economic dependence on their abuser.
Low Self-Esteem: Constant emotional abuse can erode the victim’s sense of self-worth, making it difficult for them to see a way out.
Denial or Minimization of Abuse: Victims often downplay or deny the severity of the abuse, convincing themselves it’s not “bad enough” to leave.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Many victims of emotional abuse suffer from symptoms of PTSD, including flashbacks, anxiety, and depression.

Understanding the psychological effects of emotional abuse is crucial in divorce cases involving domestic violence. A divorce attorney can help you navigate this complex situation and provide the legal support to secure your safety and well-being.

How Masters Law Group Can Help

At Masters Law Group, we understand how difficult it is to navigate divorce when domestic violence is involved. We are here to help you receive the protection and legal support you need to feel safe and secure. If you are living in DuPage County or the Greater Chicagoland Area, our divorce attorneys are ready to stand by your side and guide you through this challenging time. Here’s how our team can help:

Obtaining Orders of Protection: We can help you secure a restraining order to protect yourself and your children from your abuser.
Filing for Divorce: We guide you through the divorce process, helping ensure your rights are protected and advocating for your safety and well-being.
Parental Responsibilities Support: Domestic violence can heavily influence parental responsibilities. We fight for arrangements that prioritize the safety and best interests of the children involved.
Property Division: In cases involving domestic abuse, we seek fair and just division of assets, helping victims not suffer financially.

At Masters Law Group, we approach every case with compassion and determination. We understand how difficult it may be to escape an abusive situation, and that is why we are committed to standing by your side throughout the legal process.

Community Resources

The DuPage and Chicagoland areas offer a range of services for survivors of domestic violence. These organizations provide critical support:

Family Shelter Service offers comprehensive assistance, including emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and support groups, making it a vital resource for individuals and families in DuPage seeking safety and help.
The Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network serves as a resource hub, connecting survivors to shelters, counseling, and legal aid services throughout the city.
The Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC) provides shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and support services for families, along with a 24-hour hotline and emergency shelter.

These organizations, along with the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline and the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, form a strong network of support for survivors. They offer a range of services that can help individuals rebuild their lives.

Final Thoughts

Divorces involving domestic violence can be challenging, but you do not have to face this difficult time alone. At Masters Law Group, we understand the sensitive nature of these cases and are here to provide the legal support you need. As we observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month, let us reaffirm our commitment to raising awareness and supporting survivors.

Emotional abuse, which is sometimes called psychological abuse, is a pattern of behavior that damages a child’s sense of self worth and negatively impacts their emotional development. Here’s what you can do if you suspect your child is suffering at the hands of a family member.

The holiday season is not the most wonderful time of the year for so many people and families. But for many around the world, it’s a challenging time where family law issues are temporarily swept under the carpet to be dealt with at a later date. Perhaps you have waited to file a divorce or find protective orders until the holidays are over? But when it comes to the wellbeing of your child, you need to take action now.

Here is everything you need to know about emotional child abuse and how you can take action to protect yourself and your children.

What is Emotional Abuse?

If you hear a story about abuse of children, specifically when it comes to physical or sexual abuse by parents, it seems inconcievable and anger is most likely your response. You could never imagine what parents could do this to their child, or that this would ever happen in your own home. However, not all signs of abuse are physical. What if parental abuse comes in a different less visible form? What if no one is physically hurt, but there is parental emotional abuse through words and actions?

The definition of emotional abuse, otherwise known as psychological abuse, is a pattern of behavior that damages a child’s sense of self worth and negatively impacts their emotional development.

Love and support is withheld, and oftentimes the person emotionally abusing the child also may reject, threaten, criticize, demean, and purposefully agitate the child. Abusers may also humiliate the child, participate in name-calling towards the child, and insult the child regularly. Although an emotionally abused child might not end up in the hospital with a broken bone or a concussion, the effects of emotional abuse can be damaging and long-lasting. In 2017, 2.3% of children in the United States experienced psychological or emotional maltreatment according to a report prepared by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. However, this estimate is likely low because emotional abuse can be harder to detect than other forms of child abuse and typically takes place in the confines of a child’s home.

Emotional abuse can be found in conjunction with physical or sexual abuse, and it is also one of the most difficult forms of abuse to recognize. Abuse in all forms is largely due to the need of power and control by the abuser, and emotional abuse is no different. In these abusive environments, the culprit manipulates and controls the child by using words and actions that are emotionally hurtful and damaging.

Identifying Emotional Abuse in Children

Emotional abuse experienced by a child may show certain behaviors that can be telling signs which you should watch out for. This would include:

Anxiety
Depression
Low performance in school
Loss of interest in social activities or other interests
Avoiding activities involving family bonding
Attempts to avoid certain situations (such as going to an activity or another person’s house)
Stunted development of emotions
Desire to self harm or inflict harm on others
Desperately seeking affection and attention from other adults
Regression of childhood development (a common example of this is bed wetting after previously mastering bladder and bowel control)
Complaining of stomach aches or other bodily symptoms with no known cause

While this behavior does not directly equate to a child experiencing psychological abuse, one or several of these behavioral symptoms can be a sign that there is protection needed for your child. Any signs of this behavior in children could be grounds for requesting an Order of Protection due to harassment or willful deprivation.

Emotional Abuse Treatment

In the past, emotional and psychological abuse were not readily recognized in the eyes of the law. In today’s times, emotional abuse is often considered a major factor in family law cases and is reviewed closely in child abuse matters. In cases involving certain offenses, an individual should immediately seek out the assistance of an experienced family law attorney in your area, who can assist with reporting emotional abuse or protection for themselves or loved ones.

Priority number one is always to ensure the safety of the child, of course. If your child is being emotionally abused, there are several steps that can be taken to mitigate the risk of the situation at hand prior to legal help. The perpetrator of the abuse may need to go through treatment for their behavior, especially if the abuser is a parent of the child. Treatment can come in several different forms, which could include parenting classes, therapy individually or as a family, and even social services can be involved.

In addition to treatment for the abuser, the child experiencing the abuse will also most likely require medical attention. Those receiving the abuse and the repercussions may also benefit from therapy, either individually or with their family. Once they have the opportunity to process the emotional trauma, they are also aware of healthy coping mechanisms and how to resolve conflict in a healthier way.

If the abuse can’t be treated from these standpoints, and it needs to be escalated to legal assistance, Masters Law Group is here to help you with divorce consultation or an issuance of Order of Protection in the state of Illinois.

Emotional Abuse Protection

If you’re a parent and think your child is being emotionally abused by someone else—such as an ex, a teacher, a pastor, or coach—take steps to intervene.

Encourage the child in your life to contact the Child Helpline if they need some extra support to cope with what has been happening. They may find talking to somebody outside of the situation helpful. You could also try calling the National Parent Helpline in your state to discuss your concerns.

While all forms of abuse can feel like a never-ending hopeless situation, Masters Law Group is here to help you see a light at the end of the tunnel. We provide an array of family law services including Orders of Protection and divorce services for our clients. Our highly experienced family law attorneys offer skillful legal representation that will guide you through to safety for your children and yourself.

Get in touch with us here today to discuss and execute the best plan of action for you and your family.

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Ask an Attorney: Top 4 Questions for Domestic Violence & Divorce