Yes. Something can be harmful even if it was not meant to be. Impact and intent are not always the same.
A person may not have intended to cause harm, but their actions can still affect your safety, boundaries, or well-being. This can include being dismissed, controlled, criticized, or exposed to situations that felt overwhelming or unsafe.
How something affected you matters more than what was intended.
This page is part of the What Counts as Abuse? section of the CommuniDID site, which helps readers evaluate past experiences and understand why confusion about abuse is common.
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