Battered Woman Syndrome: What are the Characteristics?
According to Dr. Lenore E. Walker, a prominent expert on battered women, a woman must experience at least two complete battering cycles before she can be labeled a “battered woman”. The cycle has three phases. First the tension-building phase, followed by the explosion or acute battering incident, then the calm, loving respite- often referred to as the honeymoon phase. Battered woman syndrome describes a set of symptoms found in woman living in battering relationships. The four general characteristics are: The woman believe it’s her fault The woman’s inability to place the responsibility of the violence elsewhere The woman fears for her life and/or her children’s lives. The woman has the belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient. Women need to know that according to research spousal abuse does not typically stem from a problem with the relationship, but instead begins with the man’s emotional insecurities, low self-esteem and abusive behaviors witnessed in his childhood. The
