Protesters cheer as E. Jean Carroll arrives at Manhattan federal court in New York as her defamation suit against Donald Trump resumes on Jan. 25, 2024. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) |
By Amy Barasch | As advocates and activists around the globe hold events to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it’s worth acknowledging what we have recognized since 2016. Just like Vice President Harris, we know Donald Trump’s type.
Domestic violence, also called intimate partner violence, is an international phenomenon that in the U.S. is experienced by 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men. The most recognized form of domestic violence is physical violence, but physical violence is often embedded in broader coercive and controlling behavior. The coercive behavior—emotional abuse, isolation, threat and false promises and bullying—is what most victims say is the most harmful and powerful, in part because it can be so confusing and/or invisible to the outside world. The braggadocio and attention lure you in, and the threats of harm, false promises and insults that erode your self worth can cause you to stay.
As someone who has worked in the field of intimate partner violence for 30 years, Donald Trump has felt familiar to me—and not in a good way—since the campaign leading up to his 2016 election. His belittling of opponents, his savior-like language and his implicit (and explicit) threats of harm for those who are not loyal to him sound exactly like my former clients’ partners writ large.
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