Probably you have seen abusive women and men. By the way, I can't help watching my favorite programs. Do you watch television regularly? It is almost guaranteed that you do. But I happen to have two family members who don't watch TV at all.

As for myself, I'm hooked on crime shows. Name a crime show and more likely than not, I'm a regular viewer. My particular tastes in TV programs have taught me one thing; what an abusive women and men relationships looks like. In almost every crime show I watch, each case is a little different. However, there are certain common characteristics to these abusive relationships which you can spot.

Since some of us watch plenty of television, you'd think that we would easily be able to catch the signs of an abusive relationship, especially if we know the people involved. If you see some of the telltale signs of abuse, you absolutely have to do something because if you don't, who will?

Why is it that so many of us avoid doing or saying anything in these situations? I happen to have a friend whose aunt was in a relationship with an abusive man. Everyone knew about it and no one said anything.

I decided to confront my friend about the situation since I wanted to know how he could stand idly by while this was going on. He told me that he and other relatives had tried, but couldn't persuade his aunt to break things off and get out of the abusive relationship. She's an adult, after all and flatly refuses to leave this man.

What often happens in these abusive relationships is that the abuser will isolate the victim, making them feel powerless and completely reliant on their abuser. They're kept apart from their family and friends and even worse, they often make their victim feel as if the abuse is their fault and foster feelings of guilt which keep them locked in to these horrible situations.

There are a lot of factors which can complicate abusive women and men, but it's everyone's responsibility to watch out for the signs that someone we know is being abused. For instance, if a friend, family member or acquaintance of yours seems to regularly have bruises or other signs of physical abuse, talk to them about it.

Look for withdrawn behavior as well and if you see these signs of abuse in a child, you absolutely must do something immediately. A child can't fight back against their abuser. As an adult, it's up to you to help.

Never stand an abusive relationship in the name love.