People may know about more obvious forms of physical or verbal abuse, but it is just as important to focus on subtle and covert abuses that have less visible but just-as-damaging impacts to victims.
This is according to new research – ‘Subtle or Covert Abuse within Intimate Partner Relationships: A Scoping Review’ – that was published in the Sage journal Trauma, Violence and Abuse.
The study uncovered a significant gap in understanding of a harmful form of domestic abuse known as subtle or covert abuse; and that current research on this topic is limited, despite its potentially widespread impact.
A particular concern raised in the research is that therapists do not currently have the knowledge and training to recognize this form of abuse, as abusive partners can present as helpful and concerned when dealing with health care professionals.
However, due to the paucity of literature and training in this area, therapists lack the knowledge to identify experiences of subtle or covert abuse in intimate relationships.
Abusive relationships can therefore be missed and in some cases therapeutic work may even allow it to continue. This is because the abuse is often conducted in an indirect way and can be mixed with positive behaviors or performed in a positive way and is therefore easily excused and becomes the norm in a relationship.
Key behaviours of this type of abuser include:
- Undermining – Denying the victim’s perception of things, disapproving through sighing or questioning, expressing disappointment, lying and gaslighting, being condescending, blaming, playing mindgames and demonstrating double standards.
- Limiting – Turning the victim’s attention from their needs to the perpetrator’s, guilt-tripping, violation of boundaries, making partners focus on them and preventing partners from developing themselves or their interests.
- Withholding – Avoiding communication, physical and emotional withdrawal, being moody, sulky and passive aggressive and having lack of concern, attention or affection, with no support, understanding, companionship and appreciation.
According to lead author Rosemary Parkinson: “Changes in women victims can include self-doubt, a loss of self-worth, negative mood changes and a limiting of themselves. These in turn lead victims to focus on the perpetrators’ needs and ignore their own.
,For Parkinson, “subtle or covert abuse has the potential to be one of the most damaging of all abuses, and there are no studies solely exploring this kind of abuse. It shows that we know very little about a type of abuse that is damaging victims and may be pervasive.”
More than anything, this study highlights “an urgent need for more research on subtle abuse to better understand how to recognize its signs, offer effective support to victims, and to train therapists to spot the signs.”
