Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can involve a pattern of abusive, threatening, or controlling behavior within a family, household, or intimate partner relationship.

What Can Domestic Violence Look Like?

Domestic violence can take many forms. It may involve physical harm, emotional abuse, threats, isolation, financial control, sexual violence, technology, or other behaviors used to control another person.

Physical Harm

Hitting, pushing, grabbing, restraining, blocking someone from leaving, or other physical violence.

Emotional Abuse

Insults, humiliation, intimidation, manipulation, or behavior intended to make someone feel afraid or powerless.

Isolation

Trying to control who someone sees, limiting contact with friends or family, or making it difficult to attend school, work, or activities.

Financial Control

Controlling access to money, interfering with work or school, taking someone’s money, or creating financial dependence.

Threats or Intimidation

Threatening someone, their children, loved ones, pets, property, immigration status, or other things important to them.

Sexual or Digital Abuse

Sexual coercion, unwanted sexual activity, monitoring devices or accounts, demanding passwords, or using technology to control or intimidate someone.

Abuse Is About Power and Control

Domestic violence can look different from one relationship to another. What often connects these behaviors is a pattern of one person using fear, pressure, intimidation, or control over another person.

If This Is Happening to You

You have options. Choose the steps that feel safest and most helpful for your situation.

Tell Someone You Trust

Consider talking with a trusted friend, family member, advocate, faculty member, staff member, or another person you feel comfortable with.

Think About Safety

An advocate can help you think through safety at home, school, work, online, and in other places that are part of your routine.

Keep Information If It Feels Safe

You may choose to save messages, screenshots, photos, dates, injuries, damaged property, or other information that could help document what has been happening.

Connect With an Advocate

An advocate can help you explore safety planning, shelter, legal options, campus support, reporting, and other resources without deciding for you what you should do.

How to Support a Friend

If someone tells you they are experiencing domestic violence, listening without judgment and respecting their choices can make a real difference.

Believe Them

Listen without blaming, minimizing, or questioning why they stayed, returned, or made certain choices.

Ask What They Need

Ask what would feel helpful instead of telling them what they should do.

Help Them Connect

Offer to help them reach an advocate, find local services, explore campus resources, or learn about available options.

Respect Their Choices

Support their decisions about safety, housing, reporting, the relationship, and what they want to do next.

Domestic Violence Resources

Support is available in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties, as well as throughout Florida and nationally.

Local Support

SafeSpace

Martin • St. Lucie • Indian River Counties

SafeSpace provides free and confidential domestic violence services including crisis support, safety planning, emergency shelter, advocacy, legal advocacy, information, and referrals.

24/7 Hotline
772 288 7023

Call SafeSpace Visit Website →

Local Support

Martha’s House

Okeechobee County

Martha’s House provides domestic violence survivors and their families with crisis intervention, emergency shelter, safety planning, advocacy, court support, referrals, and other supportive services.

24/7 Hotline
863 762 0202

Call Martha’s House Visit Website →

Florida Support