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🧠🕯Gaslighting as an abuser's tool: unpacking what it means and how it is weaponized…

Writer: Manushya FoundationManushya Foundation
Mar 6

As we mark Women’s History Month, let’s address a key issue patriarchy has long used to control and silence women: #Gaslighting. 🧠🕯 An abuser's tool, gaslighting is a psychological manipulation tactic that makes victims question their own reality. Let’s unpack what it means and how it is weaponized…


✍️ “Gaslighting” earned the honor of the Meriam-Webster 2022 Word of the Year, and this largely sprang from the fact that this word is being used in a much broader sense, from the context of politics to healthcare and even business. Amid these evolutions, one crucial meaning still stands – it represents an aspect of intimate partner violence, especially against women.


🔥 But what exactly is gaslighting? When talking about interpersonal relationships, including romantic ones, gaslighting is defined as “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories…” In plain words, gaslighting leads to you second guessing yourself and feeling like you are in the wrong, even though your partner is hurting you or lacking in their roles.


📌 Gaslighting is nuanced and involves layers that make the deception more effective, allowing the abuser to evade responsibility. With women more likely to be at the receiving end of this type of abuse, this tactic may also be grounded in the gender power imbalance as well as negative stereotypes of women.


🔻 Here are some examples of common gaslighting techniques:

🚩 Trivializing one’s thoughts and emotions. ⚡️When you express your needs or concerns about the relationship, you encounter responses like, “You’re overreacting” “Why are you so sensitive?”, or “Don’t be crazy."

🚩 Countering the truth and creating new stories. ⚡️You brought up a physical attack that happened in the past, but they insisted it never happened.

🚩 Refusing to admit fault while shifting the blame. ⚡️ “I only cheated because you work a lot and never have time for me.”

🚩 Disguising manipulation in compassion and care. ⚡️”If you realize how much I love you, you would know that I would never hurt your feelings.”

🚩 Diverting your attention to other topics.


🌧 Gaslighting is often weaponized to shield other toxic behaviors, such as neglect, infidelity, or even physical abuse. If this form of emotional abuse is endured over a long time, it can diminish your sense of self-worth, make you question your decisions, and contribute to extreme loneliness, depression, and anxiety.


#WeAreManushyan ♾ Equal Human Beings


✊ Manushya Foundation stands firm in our position against intimate partner violence, including various forms of emotional abuse. It is never easy to leave abusive relationships, so when you realize you are being gaslit, you may start with setting your boundaries, paying attention to actions, rather than words, and seek support from loved ones or professionals, if necessary. At the same time, we, as a society, should also demand an education system that nips domestic violence in the bud and eradicate power dynamics between men and women.


🔗 While you’re here...



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