Information for Children & Young People
Experiencing abuse in your own relationship
Young people experiencing abuse
Abuse can happen in any relationship, whether you are heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. It is wrong and should not be happening to you. Abusers can use your sexuality as a way of abusing you. There can also be additional experiences for LGBT people.
Abuse in young relationships is far more common than previously thought. It can affect both young girls and boys.
Types of abuse
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Physical
Can include being punched, black eyes, broken teeth, pushed down stairs or dragged by the hair.
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Psychological and/or emotional
Can include, controlling who you see, calling you names, insulting you, intimidating you, making you feel bad about yourself.
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Digital
Can include monitoring your messages, having the passwords to your social media accounts, monitoring your followers, always asking for your whereabouts or using location services (e.g. SnapMaps) to monitor your whereabouts.
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Financial
Can include, controlling what you spend your money on, taking money from you or forcing you to borrow money from other people.
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Sexual
Can include being raped or forced to perform sexual acts. Sometimes these activities may be filmed on mobile phones and can be used as a way of trying to humiliate and blackmail you.
Healthy relationships are not like this and it is not normal.
Information for Children & Young People
Glasgow Women's Aid are here to listen to you and support you. We want you to feel able to tell us what is happening to you and to know that this information is confidential. It is very important that you know we will not share the information with others UNLESS we think that you or another child or young person is at risk of being harmed. We can discuss this properly when you get in touch with us.