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Why stay in an abusive relationship?


Notes:

So, why do people stay in abusive relationships? Often people say if my partner laid a hand on me I would be out the door, but imagine for a minute , your own family. Would you really be able to walk out the door ? Could you leave your home your neighborhood, your friends. Where would you go ? Victims do not leave for a number of reasons which include:
Fear of Partner’s Action: People who leave their batterers are at 75% greater risk of being killed by the batterer than those who stay. There are also threats of hurting family members, the children and/or threats of suicide.
Effects of Abuse: Depression, feeling of immobility, the belief of having no options or choices.
Isolation: Many victims of domestic violence lose their support system because their batterer has isolated them from family and friends.
Economic Dependency: In the first year after a divorce, a woman’s standard of living drops by 73% while a man’s improves by an average of 42%.
Leaving is a process
When friends, family members, helping agencies such as, police, shelters clergy, courts, medical personal, therapists and educators lend substantial and concerted efforts to assist victims of domestic violence in the leaving process, they are more likely to leave. Therefore, when they stay, we as a community should look to see what we are doing to hinder the leaving process and then make changes to facilitate the leaving and ultimate safety.