Generally, four types of abuse has been covered by the Act, which are as follows:

• Physical abuse: Use of physical force against a woman such that she suffers from bodily injury or hurt. Physical assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force in the form of beating, kicking, punching, abandoning the aggrieved person in a dangerous place, making use of weapons to threaten her, forcing her to leave her matrimonial home, hurting her children, using physical force in sexual situations, etc.

•Sexual abuse: This is a form of physical force and includes any act in which a woman is forced to perform any unwanted, unsafe or degrading sexual activity. It includes calling her sexual names, hurting her with objects and weapons during sex and includes forced sex even by a spouse or intimate partner with whom she has consensual sex.

• Emotional Abuse: Not all abusive relations involve violence and physical hurt. Many women face emotional abuse which is equally destructive. It includes verbal abuse such as yelling name calling, blaming, isolating, intimidating, showcasing controlling behaviour, insulting or continually criticising her.

• Economic Abuse: Economic abuse mainly includes a woman not being provided with enough money by her partner to maintain herself and her children, through buying clothes, food, medicines, etc. It also includes not allowing women to take up employment. Apart from this, forcing her out of the house where she lives by not providing her rent, depriving her of financial resources she is entitled to under any custom or law, restricting her access to shared household also falls in this category. It also includes disposing or alienating her movable or immovable assets, valuables, shares, securities and other properties in which she has an interest.