How to Conceal Your Internet (Online) Searches:

When using the Internet to access sites for information about woman abuse from your personal computer, your abuser could find out what sites you have visited. Because the Internet browser you use (e.g., Internet Explorer, Google, Safari, etc.) records the web sites you have visited, your safety could be jeopardized if your abuser were to check this browser history.

Safety tips: 

• If possible, search online from a friend’s house, your workplace, public library, or Internet cafe.
• Clear your computer’s memory (or web browser’s “cache”) of the most recent pages you have accessed. By emptying your computer’s cache the sites you visited will be deleted. Afterwards, visit sites on other subjects such as health, children, schools, government, or entertainment to disguise the real intent of your web searches.

1. If you use Internet Explorer:

• Pull down the Tools menu
• Select Internet Options
• Choose the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files
• Click on “Delete Files”; Under History, click on “Clear History”, then click “OK”.

2. If you use Mozilla Firefox:

• From the toolbar at the top of the page select “Tools”
• Then click on “Options” and click on “Privacy”
• Under the history tab, click on “Clear Browsing History
• Under the Cookies tab, click on “Clear Cookies”

3. If you use Safari:

• From the toolbar menu select “History”
• Scroll down and select “Clear History”

Not sure which browser you are using? Find out by accessing the Help menu, and clicking on “About”.

Types of Abuse

Physical Abuse includes bodily harm, discomfort or injury including hitting, punching, slapping, kicking, pushing, burning, biting, torture, restraining, assault with a weapon, withholding of food and/or medical care, and/or murder.

Psychological/Emotional Abuse is any act that provokes fear, diminishes the woman’s dignity or sense of self-worth, and/or intentionally inflicts psychological trauma as a means of exerting power and control over the woman. Psychological abuse can include criticism, degradation, humiliation, excessive possessiveness, threats (suicidal, homicidal, deportation, kidnapping children, harming family, friends and/or pets), controlling a person’s daily activities, social isolation, and/or purposeful destruction of property and/or pets.

Sexual Abuse includes any act of forced sexual activity, sexual harassment, unwanted sexual touching, the refusal to use protection from STD’s or unwanted pregnancy during sex, and forced exposure to, or participation in pornography or prostitution.

Verbal Abuse is the use of vexatious comments that are known or that ought to be known to be unwelcome, threatening, degrading, offensive, and/or embarrassing.

Economic/Financial Abuse is the misuse of an individual’s money or belongings by another individual. Economic abuse includes, but is not limited to the withholding and/or restricting of money needed for food and/or clothing; denying the right to seek and/or maintain employment; taking personal money; denying independent access to money; and/or excluding the victim from financial decision-making.

Spiritual Abuse includes degrading another person’s spiritual beliefs, withholding the means to practice, and/or forcing adherence to a belief system.