Bridges To Recovery on Women’s Abuse

Bridges to Recovery is a Los Angeles based treatment center for men and women who suffer from mood disorders. Bridges recently wrote a post on their blog about the abuse of women that we felt is worth sharing. Story from Bridges to Recovery below:

To family members, friends, and other observers, it may seem to be a “no-brainer” that a woman who is abused by her partner should leave the relationship. But, in fact, research indicates that leaving a relationship that involves intimate-partner violence is a complex and, often, dangerous process. First, empirical studies suggest that a woman (and, at times, her children) may be in greatest physical danger when she is attempting to negotiate separation from an abusive partner. In fact, it has been reported that the most deadly time for a woman is when the batterer believes that she intends to end the relationship.

Second, separation is a process rather than a one-time event. It is not unusual for a woman to consider physically leaving her relationship and then reconsider; it is not unusual for a woman to actually arrange to move out and then cancel all plans. And, according to a new University of Illinois journal article describing the research of Lyndal Khaw, there are several stages of the leaving process, each one complicated by unclear boundaries. For example, even if a woman physically leaves and establishes a separate living environment, practical and/or legal issues often necessitate her continued contact with her partner. If the couple has children, court-ordered child visitation with the partner contributes to the confusion over the partner’s physical presence in the woman’s life. Further, in addition to the issues of physical separation, the woman must negotiate emotional separation from her partner, including memories of more positive times with her partner, her dreams of a happy family, and other emotional ties to her partner and to the relationship.

Mental health professionals who are experienced in the assessment and treatment of domestic violence can offer crucial, and, at times life-saving, assistance to the woman caught in intimate-partner violence, as well as to her family and friends.