Relationships

3 October 2022

Throughout our lives we encounter many different relationships with different people.

We have relationships within our family units, at school, within our workplaces. Some relationships may be very short, some may last many years. Some may be good for example with old friends; some not so good, like that tyrant boss you had.

One relationship we may have is with a partner- central to which is romantic and/ or sexual involvement.

We may get married and commit to spending our lives with this person; this relationship is very important.

Two characters holding a big pink heart on a yellow background

A healthy relationship is when two people develop a connection based on mutual respect, trust, honesty, support, fairness/ equality and separate
identities.

Having a strong healthy relationship requires care and communication. Healthy relationships are those that makes us feel happy and safe
both physically and emotionally. Partners in strong relationships also feel grateful for one another, openly provide and receive affection, and engage
in honest discussions including ones about sex.

Controlling behaviour is when a person makes someone do something for selfish reasons even if they don’t want to do something (manipulating), controlling them through fear (intimidating) or taking unfair advantage of someone for their own benefit (exploit).

Controlling behaviours are abusive and can cause people to feel frightened or intimidated (often scaring someone into doing something they want). This can sometimes lead to other types or forms of abuse such as physical domestic violence (hitting etc). Some examples are telling someone what to wear and how to dress, who they can and can’t see, isolating someone from their friends/ family, constantly putting someone down and criticising them.

REMEMBER: No-one has the right to threaten, control or frighten you. If someone is doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable, it is important that you talk to someone about it.