Increased levels of psychological and emotional abuse
Victim is in denial and rationalizes they have done something wrong to provoke the violence and deserve it
Victim believes they are the one who should change
Victim becomes more withdrawn - pushes away family, friends and children
Victim knows what is coming
Abuser sees withdrawal as a rejection
Victim tries to keep the abuser happy
Increased possessiveness by abuser in hopes of keeping the victim captive
Phase 2 - Acute Battering
Tension discharges through violent assault
Almost always occurs in home where no one (other than children) will witness or stop assault
Victim is basically powerless to do anything other than flee or hide
Sometimes victim will provoke violence - senses it's inevitable and wants to get it over with
Victim tends to be isolated - embarrassed, in shock or too badly hurt to leave
Abuser will not allow victim to leave
Victim feels shame - I allowed someone to do this to me
Phase 3 - Honeymoon Stage
Calm and loving period
Abuser promises to change and never hurt victim again
Abuser tries to make victim feel guilty and responsible for the violence
The abuser does and says things the victim wishes they would do all the time
The abuser believes they have re-established control, but may not be sorry for what they?ve done to the victim
Both victim and abuser often rationalize and minimize severity of incident
Many victims leave at the beginning stage - if victim leaves, abuser won't be willing to let him/her go and will begin a campaign to get him/her back - often using children as a tool or threat
This state represents the victim's idealistic view of how marriage or a relationship should be and victim can't resist giving it "one more try"