In recent years, to our great regret, we are hearing more and more horror stories about domestic violence that deteriorates into the worst situations and even loss. The growing awareness of these stories, and the fact that we often hear Egyptian family and friends for not intervening despite suspecting that something in the relationship was wrong, made us vigilant, open our eyes and begin to examine the relationships of those close to us with a scrutinizing eye.

However, it is not always right to intervene in such a relationship, and sometimes, out of goodwill – we aggravate a situation that was unfortunate from the outset.

So what is the right thing to do, when should we intervene and when should we contact the police?

First of all, it is important to say that not every relationship that you think is violent is indeed one, and that it is very difficult and complex to understand and recognize the dynamics of a relationship, when you anticipate what is outside. This is especially true when there really is a violent relationship, and the aggrieved party does its best to hide the situation, sometimes painting a misrepresentation of happiness and contentment.

However, here are some red lights that are important to pay attention to:

A loved one enters into a new relationship that progresses at a very fast pace, moving to a shared residence or a wedding, without you really getting to know his partner.

That dear person moves away from you, shares and talks less than once, saves on details, cancels meetings with you regularly, hides and describes a perfect and ambiguous picture whenever asked about the relationship.

That person changes his style of dress, style of speech, begins to like things that the partner likes, to do only what the partner wants to do and cancels himself, his desires and opinions within the relationship.

You notice that something in that person’s character is changing—they look sadder, they’re turned off, their character traits change, and they show insecurity, problems with their self-image.

You notice that this person suddenly has cuts, bruises, blue marks, pain that did not appear before, and he claims to have happened from a variety of different and strange accidents.

That person’s partner speaks to them in harsh, rude, even violent language, and conveys it as humor, or rationalizes it in a speech style.