Well according to the Shariah courts, if a man or woman was constantly abusing their spouse verbally, and the victim goes to courts, then steps are taken to counsel and chastise the perpetrator with advises from the Quran and hadith. However if the verbal abuse was truly severe, whereby there were life threatening threats, then the judge may advise them to part ways as well.
Verbal abuses like slander on the other hand may carry minor penalties like fines. It all depends on the degree.
The issue with verbal abuse is that it is not always provable and the damage not easily accessed unlike physical violence and beatings.