Women Are Using A Powerful Hashtag To Talk About Emotional Domestic Abuse

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) provides those seeking help with a one-sheet about psychological abuse, including a list of warning signs, and statistics. Psychological abuse may accompany physical violence — 95% of men who abuse their partners physically will also do so psychologically — but it can stand completely alone, too. The hashtag #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou was created to talk about these situations. Inspired by the hashtag, women have taken to Twitter this month to post about emotionally abusive relationships. The tweets usually lead with #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou and follow up with details of another type of abusive behavior, like excessive anger, jealousy, a need for absolute control, and manipulation. According to NCADV, 4 in 10 people have experienced some kind of coercive control from an intimate partner. Sadly, #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou is raising much-needed awareness for a widespread problem. This hashtag sheds light on the dangerous belief that abuse needs to be violent in order for it to be an urgent matter. As NCADV reports, 7 out of 10 women who have experienced psychological abuse show symptoms of PTSD and/or depression. Studies suggest that any kind of abuse — physical or emotional — has lasting effects. If more people are able to recognize the signs of an abusive relationship and talk about them, hopefully fewer people will be forced to live with abuse. Read some of the most powerful tweets from #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou, below. For those who need help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.