An elementary school teacher and community charity event raiser, she thought she would never be a "victim". She married a man who was wonderful to her in the beginning, and then slowly, over time, something happened. He seemed to change, show a side of himself she had never seen before, and began to act out physically during arguments instead of talking things out. Ashamed and frightened, she kept her secret private, telling herself that he would change and that it wasn't all that bad. How could she, an educated woman with self-confidence, a career, and awareness, be a victim?.
Domestic violence could be our nation's number one social problem. Although the spotlight has been focused on it in recent years to raise awareness and provide services, the numbers for its occurrence still remains at an unacceptable level, for there are still men and women who batter, victims who stay in an abusive relationship or return to one, and children who reap the harvest of violence. In order to understand the cycle of violence or prevent it, we should examine the psychological and sociological factors found in the players and roles of this tragic drama:.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE.
The most common factor in the developmental history of both abusers and victims is previous experience and exposure to violence. This exposure ordinarily begins in the home of both abuser and victim, where, as children, they are either victims or witnesses of violence. The outcome of this exposure, coupled with individual developmental factors, is, of course, interpreted and experienced uniquely-there are exceptions to the rule-but, clear developmental patterns are found repeatedly in men and women who were raised in violent homes.
THE BATTERER.
If you ask a male batterer how he feels about violence, he will tell you he hates it and may even remember hating it and fearing it as a child, but these same men play out the same psychosocial patterns as adults.
