The Problem

What is Battering

Battering is a pattern of behavior using fear and intimidation to establish power and control over another person with whom an intimate relationship is or has been shared. This often includes the threat or use of violence. Battering happens when one person believes that they are entitled to control another.
Intimate partner violence is connected to the societal oppression of women, children, people of color, Deaf people, people with disabilities, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, elders, Jewish people, and other marginalized groups. Each target group has a unique experience of oppression stemming from specific historic, cultural and social experiences and realities. The work to end domestic violence must necessarily include the fight against all oppressions.

Familial, elder and child abuse may be present in a violent home. Abuse generally falls into one or more of the following categories: physical battering, sexual assault and emotional or psychological abuse, and generally escalates over a period of time.

Read this list. Have any of these happened to you? 

• punched walls, cuts, broken bones, yelling, rages, craziness, shoving, choking, ripping, slapping, biting, kicking, pinching, bruises, violence to pets
  
• control of finances, sabotaging attendance at job or school, brainwashing,
  
• forced sexual contact, rape, unwanted touching, sexist comments
  
• lying, criticism, public humiliation, broken promises, ridicule, jealousy and possessiveness, , silent treatment, name calling
  
• using children to manipulate a parent's emotions, crying and afraid children,
  
• intimidation, loss of self esteem fear, shame, confusion, isolation from family and friends
  
• threats - to harm family and friends and animals, -to take away the children,  -of being kicked out, - of weapons, -of being killed

Who is Battered?

In all cultures, batterers are most commonly male. There is not a typical woman who will be battered - the risk factor is being born female.

A battered immigrant or refugee woman who is not a legal resident or whose immigrant status depends on her partner is isolated by cultural dynamics that may prevent her from leaving her husband, seeking support from local agencies that may not understand her culture  or language or requesting assistance from an unfamiliar American legal system.

Children witnessing domestic violence and living in an environment where violence occurs may experience some of the same trauma as abused children. Adolescents may act out or exhibit risk-taking behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, running away, sexual promiscuity and criminal behavior. Young men may try to protect their mothers, or become abusive to their mothers themselves. Children may injured if they try to intervene in the violence in their homes.

Individuals with physical, psychiatric and cognitive disabilities may not only experience sexual and domestic violence at a higher rate from intimate partners or spouses than the mainstream population, but they may also experience mistreatment, abuse, neglect and exploitation from their caretakers, including personal assistants, paid staff, family members and parents.

Older battered women are more likely to be bound by traditional and cultural ideology that prevents them from leaving an abusive spouse or from seeing themselves as a victim. Older women do not have access to the financial resources they need to leave an abusive relationship.

Same sex battering is one person's use of physical, sexual or emotional violence or the threat of violence or the fear of outing to gain and maintain control over another and happens regardless of culture, race, occupation, income level and degree of physical or cognitive ability. In addition, the fear of homophobic and hostile law enforcement, judiciary, court personnel, medical and social service providers and domestic violence programs may keep lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Intersex victims of same sex violence from leaving their abusive relationship and seeking help.

Teen dating violence may be one of the major sources of violence in teen life. Social, cultural, religious and family messages about intimacy and relationships between teens can be confusing, misleading, nonexistent or even unhealthy,  so many teens find themselves unsure of what to expect and how to behave in dating or intimate relationships. Fear, misconceptions, lack of services, low self-esteem, control by the abuser, peer pressure and concern about family response all combine to keep battered teens trapped in silence and secrecy.