Battered Women Syndrome
In one way health care providers compare the syndrome suffered by battered women to being not unlike posttraumatic stress disorder. This syndrome is recognized by the psychiatric community as a disorder suffered by victims of continuous, and/or relentless, brutal domestic violence. The truth is that for many years the community ignored abuse of women. It has only been in the last thirty or so years that is has been acknowledged as a real problem for women and dealt with in the community, by health care providers and those in authority to do something about it like police officers and the legal community.
A battered woman is one who has been through more than one physically abuse episode. It only becomes obvious that a woman is suffering from battered women’s syndrome once she has gone through the four stages. The first one is denial. The woman is certain that it could not be happening to her. She makes up explanations why her boyfriend/husband would have done such a thing to her. She assures herself that it will never happen again. Usually the partner will have been remorseful; apologizing and assuring her he will never be violent again. This helps her to believe that everything will be all right.
The second stage is guilt. She realizes that there is something going badly wrong in her relationship, but cannot understand why. She knows he will hurt her again and so must put the blame somewhere. This is the point where the woman assumes it must be her fault. She decides that she must be letting her partner down and so deserves what is happening to her. Battered women take this stance because it is easier to be the cause of the abuse than to acknowledge that there is something sadly wrong with the relationship.
The next stage is referred to as enlightenment. It is at this point that she begins to understand that no one should be beaten no matter what someone claims the reason to be. At this point she is beginning to realize that the problem is not her, but the partner who is beating her. She begins to see him for what he truly is; someone with a serious problem who needs help. Despite this realization she remains with him hoping that he will change, hoping that she can make him understand what is happening so the relationship will work.
The final stage is when she is able to look at her life and acknowledge that as long as she stays with her abusive partner life is not going to change for her. It is at this point that battered women usually go looking for help. They understand that nothing they do will improve their lives unless they leave their partners. The women will seek help in many forms at this point. They may return to the shelter of family by going to stay with parents or siblings until they can get back on their feet. They may seek out psychiatric help, go to shelters or simply leave the city they are living in to give themselves a new start. For these women to be able to live a much deserved normal and peaceful life they need to be able to start again, to free themselves, and their children if there are any, from the cycle of abuse.
