Introduction
Battered women are those that have been violently abused. Abuse can be: physical e.g. pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, kicking, choking, grabbing, pinching, pulling hair; Sexual e.g. forced sex whereby a woman is threatened with violence upon refusal, sex after violence or any other sexually damaging acts towards the woman; psychological e.g. control over a woman’s freedom, brainwashing and destructive abuse e.g. destroying any property that belongs to the woman. The abuser or perpetrator of the aforementioned acts towards the woman can be a person from any age, sex, socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, educational, occupational and religious background. An abuser can then for example be a farmer, counselor, police officer, doctor, clergy, judge, celebrity and even a teenager among others. Contrary to popular myths surrounding abusers, they don’t always come off as angry people; in fact, abusers can be some of the most charming and agreeable persons. Yet with these traits, one agreed upon factor is that abusers are dangerous people, who take advantage of vulnerable women by abusing them through any of the aforementioned ways (Gerde, 1999). An abused woman, or a woman who has undergone such abusive acts as those aforementioned, is a battered woman.
There are several astounding statistics that surround battered woman. Statistics reveal that every nine seconds, a woman somewhere around the world is physically abused by her husband. Furthermore, statistics reveal that 3.9 million women are usually physically abused by their partners or spouses and 20.7 million women are verbally and emotionally abused by their partners and spouses (Gerde, 1999). These statistics are truly astounding and go to show the extent to which battering occurs, and the magnitude of the problem that is battering. This paper is an ensuing discussion of the spirits of battered women, and the implications these concepts have for the individual and their families, especially their children, who are normally at a vulnerable state when there is an ongoing abusive relationship. Battered relationships have relentless implications on both women and those in their surroundings. It therefore of importance that every aspect concerning battered women be discussed as such a discussion is a good source of information for women in abusive relationships, and also for those not already in such relationships.
Literature review
Roots and causes of battering
Battering is founded upon many roots, which can also be said to be the causes of battering. Battering can be said to be founded upon cultural, social and economic and psychological roots. Additionally, battering can be said to be a cycle. This means that children, who were battered while growing up, go on to either become batterers of women when they grow up, or battered women. Therefore, it is a never ending cycle of battering. Another factor to note while discussing the root causes of battering is that there is a preexistent unequal relationship between women and men. Men are culturally seen to be the ones who yield more power over women in many aspects e.g. financially and even physically. The implication of this is that men will then have an upper hand over a relationship, thus leaving the woman vulnerable to abuse. The dependence women usually have on men is in some aspects unhealthy, and can lead to them being battered. Additionally, society tends to enforce social norms upon growing girls and boys (Jacobson & Gottman, 1998). This means that society trains women to be calm and passive, and men to be aggressive. This socialization translates into men and women relationships, and men may end up being as a result of this aggressiveness, abusive towards the women in their lives. This unequal preexistent relationship between men and women is the biggest root cause for battering in relationships. This being a root cause, there are factors that can be said to egg on the battering. Such factors include alcohol and chemical or drug abuse. These substances cloud the minds of batters, and they act to strengthen the will of the batterer to indulge in acts of battery towards a significant woman in their life. The above understandings of the root causes of battering are important, as they help give a perspective on battering.
Physical and Emotional Effects on battered women
An abuse partner is detrimental for a woman in several ways. One way that a woman is affected as a result of an abusive relationship is physically. Battered women normally experience a host of physical problems as a result of a batterer’s actions. According to statistics, battering is the major cause of injury to women. This means that it exceeds in rank injuries caused by car accidents, rapes, or robberies. The physical injuries caused by battering normally lead to medical complications such as broken limbs, cuts and bruises, arthritis, hypertension, and heart disease and this is just but a tip of the ice berg (Gerde, 1999).
The physical injuries accorded women in abusive relationships also cause other problems that may not necessarily be of a physical nature. Due to physical abuse, a woman may have to go to a hospital, and the hospital stay may be long term. Thus, the long-term hospital stay may cause a woman to miss work, and may therefore be laid off from work. Another effect of physical injuries that a woman may get from an abusive relationship is financial incapacitation. A woman may receive physical injuries that may cause major medical difficulties. These difficulties may require a lot of money for treatment, and this may drain the finances of the woman. These two examples show us that battering not only causes physical injuries to a woman, but in addition, the physical injuries have their own consequences (Roberts, 2007). Battering indeed has many consequences to the women in the line of fire, and thus it should be discouraged.
As seen above, battering results in physical injuries alongside other consequences. In addition to the physical effects emotional effects are also a result of the battering that a woman may undergo through the hands of a batterer. This section will highlight a few of the emotional problems which battered women go through. One of the emotional problems that a woman may go through as a result of being battered is loss of self-esteem. Self-esteem is important for every individual, and it is usually an indicator of how one feels about themselves. When a person has low-self esteem, they doubt themselves, and thus do not have the confidence to make everyday decisions. Solving problems for a person with low self-esteem is a difficult task and sometimes even impossible. A woman who has been battered often shows characteristics of low self esteem (Gerde, 1999). Low self-esteem may eventually lead the woman to be depressed, and depression is known to be a condition which requires medical attention.
Another emotional affect resulting from battery includes feelings of helplessness. A partner who is abusing his woman always strives to be in control. This partner normally maintains this control by abusing the woman through the ways that were mentioned at the beginning of this paper, psychological, sexually, physically, e.t.c. The more a woman in an abusive relationship tries to regain control, and be on top, the more the abuser abuses the woman in order to regain the previous hold on the woman, and mostly, the abuser normally wins. What ensues is a cycle of futile attempts whereby the woman is trying to gain control by stopping the acts of violence towards her (Roberts, 2007). These futile attempts by the woman lead her to feeling helpless, ands she may stop trying to end the cycles of violence against her, a factor which is unhealthy to say the least.
Self blame and guilt is an emotional result of battery. Women are known socially to be the ones who hold their families together. This means that they are in part responsible for the emotional wellness of their families. When a woman undergoes abuse, the emotional wellness of her family suffers because she obviously cannot take care of herself, and therefore cannot take care of her family. With a woman’s family suffering emotional trauma, the woman tends to blame herself, seeing herself as a failure for she is not capable of taking care of her family. Guilt and shame overwhelm abused women and the abuser of the woman normally eggs on this guilt and shame, blaming the abuse they inflict on the woman. The woman in the end sees herself as deserving of the abuse, a notion which is not in the least bit true. Self blame and guilt is in fact one of the reasons as to why women tend to stick around abusive relationships. They tend to think that if they can fix their mistakes, then the abuse can stop (Roberts, 2007). Women always need to be educated and made aware of the fact that abuse is never their fault in any way, and that they should take the necessary actions to stop any abuse that may be inflicted upon them.
The emotional trauma that results from an abusive relationship may be in the form of denial for many women. Women use denial as a way to cope with ensuing violence against them. After a woman has been abused for a long period of time, they tend to live in denial. As mentioned above, some women feel responsible for the abuse that is normally inflicted upon them. This false sense of responsibility, and in someway, the embarrassing factor of having to admit abuse, makes a woman to go mum. A woman due to such feelings, and emotional control inflicted by the abuser tends to deny that any form of abuse is existent. Women who are in denial normally do comparisons between themselves and other women who had before endured abuse and lived to tell the story (Roberts, 2007). When they look at such women, the abuse they are enduring seems inconsequential to them and thus, they tend to see denial as the only solution available to them. Denial is a bad form of the emotional effect of abuse, for it only gives a chance for the abuser to inflict more harm. A woman in denial of an abusive relationship needs to be empowered for this is the only way they can be able to walk out of such a relationship and consequently, free themselves from damaging abuse (Gerde, 1999).
Emotional effects just like the physical effects also have their consequences. Women who are suffering from abuse especially that which leads to emotional stress tend to turn to drugs and alcohol as a solution. The women abuse drugs and alcohol in hopes to getting some sort of relief from their problem. On the contrary, the drugs and alcohol only serve to heighten the problems of the women. This is because sooner or later, the drug and alcohol abuse turns uncontrollable, and the woman then has to battle with trying to control her ensuing abusive relationship and her out of control drug and alcohol problem (Jacobson & Gottman, 1998). All this only goes to heighten the emotional problems of the woman.
Abuse in relationships is detrimental for a woman. The abuse suffers the woman both emotional and physical problems. Both the physical and emotional problems are not good for the health of a woman, and they can lead to a wealth of medical problems. These medical problems also have their own consequences for a woman, such as potential job loss, and financial crippling. Thus, it is important that women become empowered to leave abusive relationships, as this is the only way that ensuing problems of both an emotional and physical nature can be stopped.
Battered Woman Syndrome
Battered woman syndrome is an important factor to discuss when dealing with issues surrounding battered women. This syndrome was first proposed around the 1970s. This concept is normally used in court rooms to justify behavior of battered women in court. In court this syndrome has gained acceptance and a following but when it comes to the field of psychology, psychologists are still not yet fully accepting of the existence of the syndrome. The lack of acceptance in the psychological field is due to the lack of empirical evidence. With this syndrome, it is hard to differentiate between the women who say to suffer from it, from the women who merely use the syndrome as a defense in court (Walker, 2000).
The understanding of battered woman syndrome requires an understanding of first and foremost, how a woman becomes classified as a battered woman. A battered woman is one who has undergone two complete cycles of battering. A cycle has three phases namely the tension building phase, then the onslaught of the battering, with the end result being a calm and loving phase whereby the abuser calms down, and apologizes profusely. This phase is technically normally referred to as the honey moon phase. Another factor that contributes to the understanding of the battered woman syndrome is the understanding of the reason as to why women don’t leave abusive relationships. Women normally stay in abusive relationship due to a set of reasons. Some of the reasons include the positive aspect of the honeymoon phase, whereby the sweet things that the women are told during this phase tend to give them a reason to stay. Another reason is centered upon responsibility. Women are socially responsible for their relationships; they are the peacekeepers in their families, thus making their marriage work is part of this, thus the reason for women staying. Another reason for staying is centered on financial responsibility. Women are normally dependent on men for financial security. A lot of women tend to be housewives with not serious jobs and if they do hold jobs, the jobs cannot be able to independently financially hold them up. Thus a woman weighs her cost and sees that if she leaves the abusive relationship, she may be in financial jeopardy for the rest of her life, thus she opts to stay. Another reason why women stay is due to threats that she may be receiving from the abuser. Due to the threats of the abuser, the woman may feel unsafe, and thus may not be able to leave (Walker, 2000). Thus, the battered woman syndrome is basically a pattern that includes the abuse of a woman, and the woman staying in the abusive relationships. It is the psychological and behavioral symptoms found in the women who go through this cycle. Those who believe in the syndrome, tend to identify four characteristics as being part of the syndrome. The four characteristics are centered on the woman and they include the woman’s belief that the abuse she faces is of her own fault, the incapability of the woman to blame the violence on the party which should assume the blame, the fear the woman has for herself and her family, and the belief the woman holds of the abuser being a very powerful being, of whom she cannot break from under. This syndrome is basically a type of stress, post traumatic stress disorder to be in specific (Walker, 2000).
The battered syndrome as preciously mentioned is normally used in court as a defense mechanism. It has been used in cases since the 1970s. The battered woman syndrome is used to defend the actions and behavior of an abused woman. The syndrome is normally used in defense during divorce cases, juvenile cases, murder cases, and even custody suits. Even with the widespread use of the syndrome in court, the syndrome still proves a grey area, and more evidence is yet to be found (Walker, 2000). The syndrome is still of importance for it makes us understand how women act in abusive relationships, and the fact that abusive relationships leave the women’s lives shattered and broken. The worst bit is the worthlessness that the women feel, such that most of them cannot leave the relationships. Abusive relationships leave the spirits of the women broken, and in a sense, they sometimes cannot move on to mend their broken spirits. The emotional aspect of the abuse is sometimes too much for women and the cycle keeps on repeating itself. Women in abusive relationships need information that will help them break the above mentioned cycle, such that they will be free from the grasp of an abuser.
Health needs of battered women
Anxiety, chronic depression, chronic pain, death, dehydration, drug and alcohol dependence, eating disorders, malnutrition, panic attacks, self neglect, sexual dysfunction are some of the effects of abusive relationships. The problems affect the health of women in many ways and in severe ways, and they should be thus taken care of. For one, women normally suffer from the physical injuries that come with an assault. In addition to the physical injuries, other complications that the woman may suffer from include sharp and chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders and psychosomatic symptoms among others (Jacobson & Gottman, 1998). Psychological abuse is another type of abuse that battered women endure, and this type of abuse also has health problems attached to it. Health providers are slowly dawning to the fact that all types of abuse mean devastating health effects on the women receiving the abuse. Women who are battered, suffer fro one, mental health problems which include anxiety, stress and depression among others. Additionally, the women have an increased likelihood of getting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS among others. Additionally and as aforementioned, women who suffer abuse are likely to start using and abusing drugs and alcohol and thus, substance abuse is a type of health problem.
Other problems that women undergo are related to pregnancies. Pregnant women are more likely to suffer at the hands of abusers, more than non-pregnant women. One, abused women are likely to miscarriage, give birth to still births, or have a baby who dies prematurely. All these deaths are as a result of the battering that women may receive during the course of her pregnancy. Additionally, there are obstetric problems that normally result from abusive relationships. These include vaginal and cervical infections, kidney problems, and bleeding during pregnancy (Jacobson & Gottman, 1998). These problems are risk factors to women who are carrying a fetus, and these problems are the causes of the many aforementioned pregnancy deaths.
Another health problem that may occur in an abusive relationship especially one whereby the woman is married is marital rape. In many parts of the world, it is the society belief that once a man marries a woman; he should have access to her sexually any time he wishes to (Carlson, Eisenstat & Ziporyn, 2004). The woman in this matter does not have a choice. Marriage relationships therefore tend to turn violent if a woman so as much refuses the sexual advances of the husband.
Another health factor of an abusive relationship is unfortunately death. This is a serious concern, but is known that abusive relationships sometimes end up in the murder of the woman, or death as a result of serious health and medical injuries inflicted on the woman/ Batters in most cases tend to strangle their victims, and this leads to their deaths. Additionally, women may also die from their own attempts at their lives. It is a common factor that women who suffer abuse from batters are normally so traumatized by the abuse that they tend to want to commit suicide (Carlson, Eisenstat & Ziporyn, 2004).All the above listed are consequences of health problems that battered women normally go through.
Due to these health problems, it is of importance that women one, visit hospitals whereby they can receive the necessary treatments for wounds that may have been inflicted on them through physical abuse. Medical attention is necessary, for it may save the life of the woman. Additionally, it is also important that a woman in an abusive relationship seek the helps of a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist will help the battered woman to cope with the emotional problems that she may be experiencing. Additionally, a psychiatrist may give the woman the push she needs to leave such an abusive relationship. The help from the psychiatrist is important as it might also help fix the broken spirit of the woman, and of those affected by the abuse inflicted on the woman, for example the woman’s children.
Conclusion
It is astounding to realize the statistics of women who are battered on a daily basis by those close to them. Battering makes a woman vulnerable, and not only does it make her vulnerable, it affects her health both emotionally and physically. It is of importance that a woman receives the treatment she needs, both psychologically and medically, as this is the only way to deal with abuse. It is important to understand how vulnerable women in abusive relationships are, thus their interests should be at all times protected. Women need to be made aware of how they can protect themselves from abusive relationships, as this will also help them protect their families, most especially their vulnerable children.
Reference
Walker, Lenore. (2000). The battered woman syndrome. Springer Publishing Company.
Jacobson, Neil & Gottman, John. (1998). When men batter women: new insights into ending abusive relationships. Simon & Schuster.
Gerde, Louise. (1999). Battered women. Greenhaven Press.
Roberts, Albert. (2007). Battered women and their families: intervention strategies and treatment programs. Springer Publishing Company.
Carlson, Karen, Eisenstat, Stephanie & Ziporyn, Terra. (2004). The new Harvard guide to women’s health. Harvard University Press.
