There are different types of violent behaviour that can occur.
Inflicting mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elder person through verbal or nonverbal acts. Examples may include: Threatening to harm you or the children, damaging belongings, stalking, isolating from friends and whānau, actions or threats, hurting animals or pets, constant put downs and belittling, exposing children to trauma.
Illegal or improper use of funds or other resources, and/or exploitation. Examples may include: Withholding money, monitoring the finances, making all the financial decisions, demanding proof of all expenditure and checking receipts, allotting an allowance.
Non-consensual sexual contact of any kind. Examples may include: Forced to have sex, feeling sexually harassed, being made to engage in degrading or unsafe sexual behaviour, being made to watch pornographic material.
Inflicting physical pain or causing injury, including inappropriate use of force or restraint and use of medications that sedate or cause harm. Examples may include: Slapping, beating, punching, kicking, strangling, shaking, biting or pinching. It may involve the use of weapons and can cause serious long term injury or fatality.
Failure to meet the physical and emotional needs of an older person. Feeling as though your spirit/wairua is being attacked, stops you from expressing your spiritual or religious beliefs, stops you going to church/ temple, puts down your beliefs, uses their/your religious beliefs to justify their behaviour.
Further reading and resrouces
For many women living with intimate partners who use violence to exercise power and control over them, animals represent both a source of comfort and a source of vulnerability. Pets and farm animals can represent some of the most meaningful relationships in victims’ lives, and for many, these constitute family relationships. Unfortunately, many victims are forced to bear witness to the same brutality towards their pets that they are subjected to themselves, as the person who abuses them also threatens, frightens, harms, and even kills the animals that they care for.