Silence can be considered a form of emotional abuse

Emotional abuse - the problem is much more abstract and elusive and far less serious than the physical violence, but more common. Though it does not leave scars on the body, but it can make people's lives miserable victims.

With emotional abuse man applied psychological trauma that can cause depression, anxiety, stress and so on. D. Acts of emotional abuse include verbal aggression (when a person says something for the purpose of upsetting the other person), dominant behavior or jealousy.

Silence - a tactic common behavior during a quarrel or conflict. This becomes particularly important who is right and who is wrong: automatically blamed the one who continues to argue. Thus, a person who listened in silence my opponent is more likely to come out of the conflict situation and the winner will get what sought. According to psychologists, the silence - a form of emotional abuse is not less effective than all the other, more "noisy" form.

via factroom.ru