NCJ Number
115179
Date Published
1989
Length
1 page
Annotation
This fact sheet presents statistics on the extent and nature of woman abuse, profiles the abused woman and the batterer, and lists a resource to help battered women.
Abstract
A woman is battered at least once every 15 seconds in the United States, and 95 percent of batterers are men. A total of three to four million women are beaten in their homes each year; battering is the single largest cause of injury to women in the United States. The abused woman has no predominant demographic profile. Her psychological profile consists of low self-esteem, low self-confidence, helplessness, fear, and shame. She has conflicting feelings of love and loyalty toward the batterer. Fear of the abuser and the control he exerts over her prevent her from acting to escape the abuse, and she typically tries to appease the batterer by attempting to please him. Batterers are usually from childhood homes where they experienced or witnessed abuse, and they tend to use threats, force, or violence to solve problems or control their partners. They have low self-esteem, often abuse alcohol/drugs, are often jealous of their partner's relationships with others, and blame their partners for their violence. Help for battered women may be obtained from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which has a network of more than 1,200 safehomes, shelters, and counseling programs for battered women and their children throughout the Nation.