Furthermore, the prevalence of physical abuse halved from about 20% among those born between 1950 and 1979 to 10% among participants born in or after 2000. However, for verbal abuse, the prevalence increased from 12% among those born before 1950 to about 20% among those born in 2000 or later.

“Any gains made in reducing physical abuse risk being undone by rising rates of verbal abuse. We must act now to confront the lasting harm caused by cruel, critical or controlling language. We need to build children up – not knock them down. The mental health of the next generation and our shared future depend on it.”

Both my parents were physically and mentally abusive. When I was around 16, I was too big for my mom to hurt me much, and I was almost on par with my dad, so them being physically violent was reduced, as it started to be consequential for them. Nothing ever stopped them from being cruel, manipulative, or spiteful to me.

I think it's a lot easier to justify to one's self that you aren't abusing someone when you aren't physically hurting them. They're "just words" after all. But when I wasn't being hit, it was mostly over. It still sucked that I knew I couldn't trust them, but without active physical assault, not much is going on. But when you tear into a person's conscious and subconscious, I always thought that stuff keeps hurting long after the action is done. I remember just a handful of times I was hurt physically really bad, but some of the hate and insults from 20-30 years ago still have effects on me from time to time.

I got help for my depression a few years back now, and have largely moved on, but what was done to me absolutely has left lifelong issues for me. All you others in this thread that have been through similar, I hope you're all at least doing alright today. None of us deserved what we got taken out on us.