Domestic Violence Topics
Domestic Cycle of Violence Incident * Any type of abuse occurs (physical/sexual/emotional)
Tension Building * Abuser starts to get angry * Abuse may begin * There is a breakdown of communication * Victim feels the need to keep the abuser calm * Tension becomes too much * Victim feels like they are 'walking on egg shells'
Making-Up
* Abuser may apologize for abuse * Abuser may promise it will never happen again * Abuser may blame the victim for causing the abuse * Abuser may deny abuse took place or say it was not as bad as the victim claims
Calm
* Abuser acts like the abuse never happened * Physical abuse may not be taking place * Promises made during 'making-up' may be met * Victim may hope that the abuse is over * Abuser may give gifts to victim
The cycle can happen hundreds of times in an abusive relationship. Each stage lasts a different amount of time in a relationship. The total cycle can take anywhere from a few hours to a year or more to complete.
It is important to remember that not all domestic violence relationships fit the cycle. Often, as time goes on, the 'making-up' and 'calm' stages disappear.
Adapted from the original concept of: Walker, Lenore. The Battered Woman. New York: Harper and Row, 1979.
COMMON MYTHS AND WHY THEY ARE WRONG Domestic violence is not a problem in my community. * Michigan State Police records from 1997 show that a woman is killed by a partner or former partner about once a week in Michigan. * In 1998, the Michigan State Police reported more than 5,000 victims of domestic violence in Oakland County.
Domestic violence only happens to poor women and women of color. * Domestic violence happens in all kinds of families and relationships. Persons of any class, culture, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, age, and sex can be victims or perpetrators of domestic violence.
Some people deserve to be hit. * No one
Tension Building * Abuser starts to get angry * Abuse may begin * There is a breakdown of communication * Victim feels the need to keep the abuser calm * Tension becomes too much * Victim feels like they are 'walking on egg shells'
Making-Up
* Abuser may apologize for abuse * Abuser may promise it will never happen again * Abuser may blame the victim for causing the abuse * Abuser may deny abuse took place or say it was not as bad as the victim claims
Calm
* Abuser acts like the abuse never happened * Physical abuse may not be taking place * Promises made during 'making-up' may be met * Victim may hope that the abuse is over * Abuser may give gifts to victim
The cycle can happen hundreds of times in an abusive relationship. Each stage lasts a different amount of time in a relationship. The total cycle can take anywhere from a few hours to a year or more to complete.
It is important to remember that not all domestic violence relationships fit the cycle. Often, as time goes on, the 'making-up' and 'calm' stages disappear.
Adapted from the original concept of: Walker, Lenore. The Battered Woman. New York: Harper and Row, 1979.
COMMON MYTHS AND WHY THEY ARE WRONG Domestic violence is not a problem in my community. * Michigan State Police records from 1997 show that a woman is killed by a partner or former partner about once a week in Michigan. * In 1998, the Michigan State Police reported more than 5,000 victims of domestic violence in Oakland County.
Domestic violence only happens to poor women and women of color. * Domestic violence happens in all kinds of families and relationships. Persons of any class, culture, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, age, and sex can be victims or perpetrators of domestic violence.
Some people deserve to be hit. * No one