• Respect - listening to one another, valuing each other's opinions, and listening in a non-judgmental manner. Respect also involves attempting to understand and affirm the other's emotions.
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  Trust and support - supporting each other's goals in life, and respecting each other's right to his/her own feelings, opinions, friends, activities and interest. It is valuing one's partner as an individual.
  
• Honesty and accountability - communicating openly and truthfully, admitting mistakes or being wrong, acknowledging past use of violence, and accepting responsibility for one's self.
• Shared responsibility - making family/relationship decisions together, mutually agreeing on a distribution of work which is fair to both partners. If parents, the couple shares parental responsibilities and acts as positive, non-violent role models for the children.
  
• Economic partnership - in marriage or cohabitation, making financial decisions together, and making sure both partners benefit from financial arrangements.
  
• Negotiation and fairness - being willing to compromise, accepting change, and seeking mutually satisfying solutions to conflict.
  
• Non-threatening behavior - talking and acting in a way that promotes both partners' feelings of safety in the relationship. Both should feel comfortable and safe in expressing him/herself and in engaging in activities.

*(From: Katherine, A. (2000). Boundaries: Where you End and I Begin. Fireside Publications) Published with permission from George Mason University Sexual Assault Services