Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month 2026 with Expert Insights and Resources
Intimate partner violence is not always loud. It does not always leave a visible injury, prompt a police call, or look the way many people expect. Sometimes it shows up as a partner tracking every purchase, threatening to ruin someone’s reputation, controlling medications, isolating them from family, or making them feel too afraid to make everyday choices.
October is Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month, a time to name the harm, support survivors, and remind communities that abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, digital, financial, spiritual, psychological, or all of these at once.
Community 247 recently sat down with Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, an intimate partner violence expert whose work has centered survivor safety, economic abuse, and community response. The conversation offered a clear reminder: if we only look for bruises, we miss many survivors.
Intimate partner violence is about power and control
Intimate partner violence, often called IPV, is a pattern of behavior used by one partner to gain or keep power and control over another partner. It can happen in dating relationships, marriages, former relationships, LGBTQ+ relationships, teen relationships, and later-life partnerships.
IPV can affect people of any race, income level, age, gender, sexual orientation, faith background, immigration status, or education level. Some survivors are believed right away. Others are doubted because the person harming them is charming in public, respected in the community, or never uses physical violence.
Hidden forms of abuse deserve serious attention
Physical violence is dangerous and should never be minimized. At the same time, many survivors experience abuse that is harder for outsiders to see. These hidden forms can be just as harmful and are often part of the same pattern.
Coercive control can shrink someone’s world
Coercive control is a pattern of domination. It can include threats, surveillance, intimidation, isolation, humiliation, and rules that limit a person’s freedom.
Examples may include:
Monitoring texts, calls, location, or social media
Deciding what someone wears or where they goes
Blocking access to transportation
Controlling contact with friends, family, faith groups, or coworkers
Threatening pets, children, immigration status, housing, or employment
Using jealousy as an excuse for constant checking
Making the survivor prove where they are and who they are with
Coercive control can make daily life feel unsafe even when no physical assault has occurred. Survivors may begin to adjust every choice to avoid angering the abusive partner.
Financial abuse can trap survivors
During Community 247’s conversation with Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, financial abuse stood out as a key area communities need to understand better. Economic safety is often tied to physical safety. A survivor may need money for gas, a phone, a hotel room, medication, food, legal documents, childcare, or a deposit on housing.
Financial abuse is one of the most common reasons survivors struggle to leave or stay safe after leaving. It can happen quietly over time.
It may look like:
Taking paychecks or public benefits
Forbidding a partner from working or going to school
Sabotaging childcare, transportation, or job interviews
Opening credit cards or loans in someone else’s name
Hiding bills, debt, bank statements, or tax information
Giving an “allowance” while keeping full control of household money
Demanding receipts for every purchase
Refusing to pay required bills to damage credit or housing stability
Emotional and psychological abuse can be deeply damaging
Emotional and psychological abuse can wear down a person’s confidence, memory, sense of reality, and connection to support.
Examples may include:
Name-calling, insults, and repeated criticism
Gaslighting or denying events the survivor knows happened
Blaming the survivor for the abuse
Making threats of self-harm to control the survivor
Public humiliation or private degradation
Accusing the survivor of cheating without cause
Destroying treasured items
Threatening to expose private information
Telling the survivor they are “crazy,” “too sensitive,” or “unlovable”
The harm can continue long after the relationship ends. Many survivors need time, counseling, peer support, legal help, housing support, and financial recovery resources.
This content is for general information only. It is not legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice. Survivors deserve support from trained advocates who can help with their specific situation.
Test Your Knowledge! Take the IPV Awareness Quiz
Use this quick questionnaire as a self-check, group conversation starter, or education tool.
Community makes a difference: How friends, relatives, and neighbors can help
Many people want to help but fear saying the wrong thing. Start with calm, nonjudgmental support.
Helpful phrases include:
“I believe you.”
“You do not deserve this.”
“I am worried about your safety.”
“What would feel helpful right now?”
“Would you like help finding an advocate?”
“I will not share this without your permission unless someone is in immediate danger.”
Try to avoid:
“Why don’t you just leave?”
“I would never put up with that.”
“Are you sure it was that bad?”
“But they seem so nice.”
“You need to do exactly what I say.”
Support can be practical. Offer a ride, a safe place to make a phone call, childcare during an appointment, a meal, help storing documents, or quiet companionship. Let the survivor lead whenever possible.
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