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Rather, When Describing Abused Women, This Description Includes Women Who Are ...

Rather, when describing abused women, this description includes women who are physically and/or mentally disabled; it includes women who can and cannot read; and it includes women who do and do not speak the language of the country they are living in. It also includes women who come from any gamut of financially impoverished to very affluent backgrounds; and women who may be homemakers caring for young children to extremely successful career women. Additionally, although the focus of this piece of research relates to Asian women, it is valuable to note that women of all ethnicities are at risk of becoming victims of domestic violence (Yoshioka, 2001).
Domestic violence advocates have investigated abusers' patterns so that victims and advocates can better comprehend abusers' pathological behaviors. The cycle of violence is a portrayal of the cyclical behaviors of abusers. It is described as three main phases. The first phase describes how the abuser becomes increasingly angry, which may include antagonizing the victim, calling her names and demeaning her. A very large part of abuse is in the form of verbal and emotional attack. The abuser may tell the victim that she deserves the abuse and even state that she likes the abuse. He may tell her that no one else would want her. In the second phase, the abuser hurts his victim by inflicting physical and/or sexual acts toward her. Soon after violent episodes, the abuser will apologize for hurting his partner and may make promises he does not intend to keep, such as never hurting her again or promising to seek help. The abuser may also attempt to smooth over the situation by lavishing his partner with gifts. Unfortunately, the abuse does not stop there and instead, he will continue to repeat the cycle (Domestic Violence Awareness Project, 2005).
Knowing that the abuser's behaviors are part of a maladaptive cycle is useful in informing victims of this cycle.In this way, they do not begin to internalize the abuse and do not learn to believe that the abuser's verbal, physical and sexual abuse is granted. Instead, understanding the abuser's dysfunctional method of relating allows victims to attribute the abuse to the abuser instead of their own shortcomings. With this knowledge, victims are able to heal from the abuse and regain a feeling of self-worth (Yoshiaka, 2001).
It is widely believed that Asian women of many regions are highly susceptible to lives of subjugation and servitude to their partners. This belief is attributed to a variety of cultural factors. It is hypothesized that women remain in abusive relationships due to the stigma that is placed on them if they leave their partner. In order to preserve family dignity, respect and honor, women many times do not speak out against abusive situations.


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