Five important things to know about men who are abusive…

#2: An abusive man presents himself to family and friends as a “great guy”. As a society, we have this idea that abusive men are “monsters” but in reality abusive men present themselves in a very positive light. Most of the time they function in social settings very well. They can be charming and outgoing. Sometimes they will be very helpful to others and generous with their time. For this reason, it is extremely important that friends and family believe a woman when she takes the courageous step of saying that her partner is controlling, hurtful or abusive. Too often family and friends hesitate to fully believe a woman because what the woman is saying about the man does not fit with their experiences of the man. It is important to remember that abusive men present themselves positively to the outside world. Abusive behaviour is behaviour that some men choose to use as a way to have power and control over their partners. Because the behaviour is a choice an abusive man makes, he can choose to behave positively in front of others to try to win others to his side. (Come back tomorrow for #3)