The following National Spousal Abuse FAQs are provided by the Legal Studies Program.

Funded by the Department of Justice Canada.

Warning: 

The contents of these FAQs are intended as general legal information only. If you have
a personal problem, please consult a lawyer.



Is there a particular kind of person who is an abuser?

Abusers do come from every part of society. Certain characteristics  of abusers have been 
identified as being common, for example:

low self esteem
poor communication skills
poor impulse control
a strong need to control
a tendency to blame the victim or other factors ( e.g. stress, alcohol, drugs) for their violence.