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New research from the University of East Anglia has uncovered a significant gap in understanding of a harmful form of domestic abuse known as subtle or covert abuse.

Unlike more obvious forms of physical or verbal abuse, subtle abuse is less visible but can be just as damaging to victims. The review found that current research on this topic is limited, despite its potentially widespread impact. The findings suggest that subtle abuse is often driven by the perpetrator's sense of entitlement, which leads to long-term emotional and psychological harm for victims.

The work appears in Trauma Violence & Abuse.

Lead author Rosemary Parkinson, of UEA's School of Health Sciences, has worked as a psychotherapist for nearly 30 years, and is particularly interested in researching the subtle abuse of heterosexual women of high educational and socio-economic status in intimate relationships, a population group with which she has worked closely.

She said, "My work aims to define this kind of abuse. I am also interested in how therapists can be trained to recognize women clients who have experienced or are experiencing subtle abuse. The women themselves present in therapy not knowing they were or are being abused, and instead think there is something wrong with them which they need to change."

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