"He's going to do it again - any minute now - he's madder than hell - Oh no! Here he comes now - help me please!"

For some, hopefully, this call is alien to them. For others it is not. Domestic violence becomes an everyday part of their life. The broken bones and bruises may heal but the true damage to a victim of domestic violence will last a lifetime. Because the abuser is so manipulative there are usually characteristics that emerge such as low self esteem, traditional beliefs, psychological and physiological problems and complaints, minimizing the abuse and feelings that she deserves the punishment she receives.

Battered women typically underestimate their abilities. The batterer constantly tells her she is incompetent and unstable to function on her own. Women often define themselves by their success or failure as a wife/partner or mother, and when things are not well at hom

e, even if they are at their job or in other areas of their lives, their self esteem is adversely affected. A battered woman assumes she is responsible for her man's behavior. She starts thinking that society will see her as the problem. If she would change her behaviors he would change, for example if she could stop making mistakes and do things right, his behavior would improve.

Typically, whether a battered woman feels that her role in a relationship is to nurture the man, or to maintain the household and take care of the relationship, his violence almost always shows her that these traditional ideas of behavior keep her safer than more "liberated" forms of behavior.

All of these emotions and the treatment they have received crush the stength a woman may have mustered to get out of an abusive situation. Her strength alone can only take her so far. After that she will need help form others. Battered womaen do leave theri abusers.

Battered women often suffer from a variety of minor ailments such as fatigue, restlessness, sleep problems and headaches.

Some common words found in the essay are:
RACS Susan, Love-Broken Lives, battered women, battered woman, self esteem, domestic violence,
Approximate Word count = 725
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)