RELATIONSHIPS DOMINATED by verbal abuse and physical aggression often start in the playground, according to a new study.
Maria José Magalhães, Vice President of the Union of Alternative Women (União de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta – UMAR), says that many of today’s aggressors start off by bullying at school.
Bullies
Signs to look for are when children start criticising their friends, the way they dress and pick on the shy, sensitive and vulnerable.
Yet, as adults, such bullies are capable of immense charm and will alternate between being angry and threatening one moment and extremely romantic the next, she said.
Made to feel like the most special person on earth, and showered with promises of love and gestures of tenderness, many young men and women don’t understand the emotional blackmail and manipulating mechanisms their loved ones use to control their partners.
Research
“There are girls that still believe in the ‘sleeping beauty syndrome’ and think that the main goal in their lives and the solution to all their problems lies in marriage,” she said.
After carrying out research all over Portugal, UMAR has come to the conclusion that domestic violence and verbal abuse happens in all social classes and at all levels of education.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@portugalresident.com
