What Is Family Violence?

Understanding Domestic and Family Abuse in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Family violence (also called domestic violence or intimate partner violence) is a pattern of abusive behavior used to gain power and control over a partner or family member. In Grand Rapids and across Michigan, family violence is a serious public health and safety issue that affects people of all ages, backgrounds, and neighborhoods.

Family violence is illegal in Michigan. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger in Grand Rapids, call 911 right away.

How Michigan Law Views Family Violence

In Michigan, family violence can occur between:

  • Current or former spouses or intimate partners (including same-sex partners)
  • People who share a child
  • People who live together or used to live together
  • Parents, step-parents, and children
  • Siblings
  • Grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins
  • People in “family-like” relationships, such as caregivers and the people they care for

The key feature is a pattern of behavior that causes fear, harm, or control over another person in a family or intimate relationship.

Types of Family Violence

Family violence in Grand Rapids can take many forms. All are harmful and all are serious.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is any use of force that injures someone or puts them at risk of being injured. It can range from mild-seeming actions that happen repeatedly to severe, life-threatening violence.

Examples include:

  • Grabbing, pinching, shoving, tripping, or pushing
  • Slapping, hitting, punching, kicking, biting
  • Arm-twisting, shaking, choking/strangling
  • Beating, battering, causing bruises or cuts
  • Breaking bones or dislocating joints
  • Assaulting with a weapon (knife, gun, heavy object)
  • Throwing objects at a person
  • Blocking someone from leaving a room or the home
  • Stopping a person from getting medical care, medication, or hygiene supplies
  • Forcing a person to drink alcohol or take drugs

Physical abuse is a crime in Michigan and can be charged under various assault and domestic violence laws.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is any sexual activity without clear, voluntary consent. This includes within marriage or long-term relationships.

Examples include:

  • Rape, including marital rape
  • Any sexual contact without consent
  • Unwanted touching of sexual body parts
  • Forcing sex or sexual acts with others
  • Forced prostitution or sexual exploitation
  • Being denied contraception when you want to use it
  • Tampering with birth control without your knowledge
  • Criticizing or shaming a person’s sexuality or sexual performance
  • Making accusations of infidelity to control or punish
  • Withholding sex as a way to punish or control

Sexual assault is a serious crime in Michigan. Hospitals in Grand Rapids such as Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) Butterworth Hospital and Trinity Health Grand Rapids have sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) and can provide confidential medical care and evidence collection.

Emotional or Psychological Abuse

Emotional abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse. It involves behaviors that humiliate, intimidate, or control another person.

Examples include:

  • Constant criticism, insults, name-calling, or belittling
  • Yelling, screaming, or threatening to hurt you, your children, or pets
  • Destroying or threatening to destroy personal property
  • Being violent toward objects or pets to scare you
  • Blaming you for the abuser’s behavior or feelings
  • Telling you that you are worthless or that no one else will want you
  • Not trusting or constantly questioning your decisions
  • Excessive jealousy or possessiveness
  • Constantly checking where you are, who you are with, or monitoring your phone and social media
  • Making you feel there is no way out of the relationship

Over time, emotional abuse can lead to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Social Isolation

Abusers often try to cut their partner or family member off from support.

Examples include:

  • Preventing or limiting contact with friends, family, or coworkers
  • Monitoring or restricting phone calls, texts, emails, and social media
  • Stopping you from attending community, school, or religious events
  • Making you feel guilty for spending time with others

In a city like Grand Rapids, where winter weather and long dark months can already feel isolating, social isolation from abuse can be especially harmful to mental health.

Economic or Financial Abuse

Economic abuse is about controlling a person’s access to money, work, or resources so they cannot be independent.

Examples include:

  • Controlling all bank accounts and money
  • Withholding money, credit cards, or access to financial information
  • Forbidding you from working or choosing your own occupation
  • Preventing you from attending school or job training
  • Stealing from you or defrauding you of money or assets
  • Forcing you to sign financial documents you don’t understand
  • Exploiting your resources (such as benefits, property, or savings) for the abuser’s gain
  • Withholding basic needs like food, clothing, medications, or shelter

In Grand Rapids, where cost of living and housing pressures can be high, financial control can trap someone in a dangerous situation.

Spiritual or Religious Abuse

Spiritual abuse uses religion or beliefs to control, shame, or isolate a person.

Examples include:

  • Using your religious or spiritual beliefs to manipulate you
  • Preventing you from practicing your faith or attending services
  • Ridiculing or insulting your beliefs
  • Forcing children to be raised in a faith you have not agreed to
  • Using religious texts or teachings to justify abuse or submission

This can occur in any faith community, including churches, mosques, temples, and other religious groups in the Grand Rapids area.

Legal abuse occurs when a person misuses the legal or family court system to intimidate, exhaust, or control a partner or family member.

Examples include:

  • Filing repeated, unnecessary court motions to drain your time and money
  • Threatening to “take the kids away” without cause
  • Using custody or parenting time to harass or control you
  • Misusing personal protection orders (PPOs) to gain an advantage

Legal abuse is also a form of family violence and can be addressed with the help of legal aid and advocacy services in Kent County.

Stalking and Cyberstalking

Stalking is a pattern of unwanted contact that makes a person feel afraid, harassed, or in danger. This can happen in person or online.

Examples include:

  • Repeatedly calling, texting, or messaging you after you’ve asked them to stop
  • Showing up at your home, work, school, or places you frequent
  • Following or tracking you, including using GPS or phone apps
  • Monitoring your social media or hacking your accounts
  • Leaving unwanted gifts or notes
  • Spreading rumors or private information online

Stalking is illegal in Michigan and can be part of a broader pattern of family violence.

Children and Family Violence

A child is affected by family violence not only when they are directly abused, but also when they:

  • See or hear violence
  • Witness the aftermath (injuries, broken objects, police visits)
  • Live in a home where one parent or caregiver is abused

Michigan law recognizes that children exposed to domestic violence are victims, too. Exposure to family violence can lead to:

  • Anxiety, depression, or sleep problems
  • Difficulty in school or behavioral issues
  • Aggression or withdrawal
  • Learning that violence is “normal” in relationships

Without support, some children who grow up with family violence may become violent adolescents or adults, continuing the cycle.

Health Effects of Family Violence

Family violence can cause serious physical and mental health problems, both short-term and long-term.

Immediate Physical Health Impacts

  • Cuts, scrapes, bruises
  • Fractures and dislocated bones
  • Head injuries, concussions
  • Internal injuries
  • Knife or gunshot wounds
  • Fainting or loss of consciousness
  • Hearing or vision loss

Emergency departments at Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, and University of Michigan Health-West (Metro Health) can provide urgent medical care and documentation of injuries.

Long-Term Physical Health Impacts

  • Chronic headaches or migraines
  • Back and neck pain
  • Gastrointestinal problems (stomach pain, ulcers, IBS) related to stress
  • Gynaecological problems and sexual health issues
  • Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
  • Pregnancy complications and miscarriage
  • Sleep disturbances and chronic fatigue
  • Increased risk of smoking, alcohol and substance misuse
  • Poor prenatal care and smoking or substance use during pregnancy

Mental Health Impacts

  • Anxiety and panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Eating disorders
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Suicidal thoughts or self-harm

Family violence can also lead to homelessness, especially when someone has to leave quickly for safety. In Grand Rapids, this can be particularly dangerous during cold winters and severe weather common in West Michigan.

How Common Is Family Violence?

National and Michigan data show that:

  • Women are more likely to experience violence from an intimate partner.
  • Men are more likely to experience violence in other family relationships (for example, as sons or siblings).
  • Young women aged 18–24 experience higher rates of physical and sexual violence than older women.
  • There is growing evidence that women with disabilities are at higher risk of violence.

While the original statistics in this article were based on older national surveys, more recent U.S. and Michigan data consistently show that domestic and family violence is widespread and under-reported.

In Kent County and the Grand Rapids metro area, law enforcement, hospitals, and public health agencies regularly report domestic violence as a major driver of injuries, 911 calls, and family instability.

Who Can Be Affected by Family Violence?

Family violence can affect anyone in Grand Rapids, regardless of:

  • Age or life stage (teens, adults, older adults)
  • Gender or sexual orientation
  • Cultural or ethnic background
  • Religion or spiritual beliefs
  • Income, education, or neighborhood
  • Physical or mental ability

Abuse happens in all parts of the city and suburbs—from downtown Grand Rapids to Wyoming, Kentwood, Walker, and surrounding communities.

Family Violence Self-Check: Questions to Ask Yourself

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may be experiencing family violence and should consider reaching out for help:

  • Has your partner or family member ever threatened to harm or kill you?
  • Does your partner physically hurt you, damage property, throw things, or make you feel unsafe or frightened?
  • Do you feel forced or pressured into having sex, even when you don’t want to?
  • Has your partner made you do something humiliating or degrading?
  • Does your partner constantly put you down, criticize your looks, or call you names?
  • Do you feel like you can’t do anything right or that everything is your fault?
  • Does your partner control the household finances or your money (for example, take your money, refuse to share information, or tightly control how you spend)?
  • Does your partner act jealous or suspicious when you talk to other people, and accuse you of flirting or cheating without reason?
  • Does your partner try to control your contact with family and friends, or monitor your phone, social media, emails, or movements?
  • Does your partner constantly need to know where you are, or show up uninvited?
  • Has your partner ever stalked or harassed you in person or online?
  • If you have children, has your partner threatened to take them away from you or to hurt them?

Even if it has only happened once, it is still serious, and it may get worse over time.

Possible Consequences of Family Violence

Over time, family violence can lead to:

  • Hearing or vision loss
  • Miscarriage or pregnancy complications
  • Sexually transmitted infections
  • Chronic pain (back pain, headaches, pelvic pain)
  • Fainting or blackouts
  • Anxiety, depression, and PTSD
  • Eating disorders
  • Substance misuse (alcohol, drugs)
  • Suicide or self-harm
  • Homelessness

Socially, family violence:

  • Weakens family and community connections
  • Makes it hard to work, go to school, or keep a job
  • Increases the risk of involvement with the criminal justice system
  • Affects children’s schooling, behavior, and long-term health

In Grand Rapids, health systems like Corewell Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, and University of Michigan Health-West, along with the Kent County Health Department and Grand Rapids Public Health, recognize family violence as a major cause of preventable illness, disability, and death—especially among women.

Key Points About Family Violence in Grand Rapids, MI

  • Family violence is a pattern of abusive behavior used to gain power and control over a partner or family member.
  • It can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, economic, spiritual, legal, or stalking—all forms are harmful and illegal.
  • Preventing a partner from working, accessing money, or practicing their religion is also abuse.
  • Two in five homicide victims nationally are killed by a family member; victims are most often partners, parents, or children.
  • Family violence can cause serious physical and psychological harm and can impact families for generations.
  • Anyone in Grand Rapids—regardless of background—can be affected, but help and support are available locally.

You Are Not Alone: Help for Family Violence in Grand Rapids, Michigan

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

Local and Michigan Resources

  • YWCA West Central Michigan – Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services (Grand Rapids)
    24/7 confidential helpline, emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy.
    Website: search “YWCA West Central Michigan domestic violence”

  • Safe Haven Ministries (Grand Rapids)
    Support, shelter, safety planning, and advocacy for those experiencing domestic abuse.
    Website: search “Safe Haven Ministries Grand Rapids”

  • Kent County Health Department
    Information on local health and safety resources, including family violence support.
    Website: search “Kent County Health Department domestic violence resources”

  • Michigan Domestic & Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board
    Statewide list of shelters and advocacy programs, including those serving Grand Rapids.

National Hotlines (Available in Grand Rapids)

  • National Domestic Violence Hotline
    1‑800‑799‑SAFE (7233) | TTY 1‑800‑787‑3224 | Chat at thehotline.org

  • National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN)
    1‑800‑656‑HOPE (4673) | rainn.org

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
    Call or text 988 for mental health crises or suicidal thoughts.

If You’re Not Ready to Call

  • Talk to a trusted healthcare provider at Spectrum/Corewell Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, or Metro Health–University of Michigan Health-West. Many clinics and emergency departments in Grand Rapids can connect you with social workers, advocates, and safe housing.
  • Speak with a school counselor, faith leader, or trusted friend who can help you find local resources.
  • Use a safe computer (for example at a library or trusted friend’s home) to search for “Grand Rapids MI domestic violence help” or “Kent County domestic violence resources.”

Remember

  • Family violence is never your fault.
  • Abuse is not a normal part of relationships, no matter what you’ve been told.
  • There are safe, confidential services in Grand Rapids, MI that can help you create a safety plan, find shelter, access healthcare, and understand your legal rights.
  • You deserve to live free from fear, control, and violence.