My Sister's Place

Cycle Of Violence & Abuse adapted from The Battered Women by Lenore Walker The Cycle of Violence & Abuse: Interpersonal violence generally follows a pattern. Battered women are not constantly being abused nor does the violence occur at completely random times. Abuse is inflicted in a repeating cycle that consists of three phases. For some survivors of domestic violence the Cycle of Violence might look exactly like what's happening in their relationship, or it might not at all. Either way, the violence is never the victim's fault.
Phase One: Tension Building
	woman is aware of a change in partner's behavior and attitude
	batterer becomes increasingly agitated and angry
	woman exercises extreme caution
	minor battering or emotional attacks occur
	woman rationalizes the attack
	abuser knows the attack is wrong and feels the partner will leave
	woman withdraws in order to not set the abuser off again
	the tension between the two becomes almost unbearable
Phase Two: Explosion
	there is a major destructive act of physical or emotional violence
	shorter than Phases 1 and 3, but usually lasts between 2 and 48 hours
	battering is often accompanied by severe verbal abuse
	the woman suffers the most serious physical injuries
	the abuser does not understand his anger
	woman may believe that she provoked the incident
	woman can often recall Phase 2 in detail, the abuser cannot
	woman often fight back in Phase 2
	Batterer seems to know how much he can batter without actually killing
	woman may often deny the seriousness of the injuries or of the emotional damage
Phase Three: Honeymoon
	batterer feels sorry for his behavior and acts apologetic and loving
	loving behavior and gifts give the woman hope that the abuser can change
	this phase often encourages the women to stay in the relationship
	sometimes there is no loving behavior, only the absence of abuse
	both parties welcome this stage
	the abuser is charming and manipulative
	the abuser believes he can control himself and convinces everyone
	she feels responsible for the abuser and for her own victimization
	it is during this phase that the woman is least likely to leave
	Phase Three leads to the tension building phase.

But the honeymoon doesn't last -- the tension starts all over again, and the cycle continues. The length of time the cycle takes to complete varies from couple to couple, and even within the same relationship. Often, the longer the relationship lasts, the faster the cycle will turn -- and the worse the abuse gets during the explosion.

Cycle Of Violence & Abuse

The Cycle of Violence & Abuse:

Phase One: Tension Building

Phase Two: Explosion

Phase Three: Honeymoon