Are Battered Women Crazy?



Photo by coloniera2 via sxc.hu

 Many people think they are because they don’t leave right away, they return to the abuser after they have left, or they think that the abuser is going to change. But the short answer to the question is an emphatic “NO”. Battered women do not like the abuse, they do not ask for the abuse, they are not stupid and they are not “crazy”.

Battered women are an extremely resourceful and very strong group of women. They endure so much and figure out a way to survive and cope with what is happening within their families. They carry feelings of shame and hurt, mistrust, lack of hope, low self esteem, and abandonment.

Battered women know better than anyone else how to make a very bad situation one that will work for the time being. When someone doesn’t leave immediately it doesn’t mean she asked for it or that she likes it. What it means is the timing isn’t right for some reason.

Battered women make decisions based on the resources available to them at the time. Hope House works hard to make sure women know about our services and the ways that we can help. We never want “lack of resources” to be a reason that someone stays in the relationship longer.

No, battered women are not “crazy”. They are normal people in incredibly difficult circumstances doing the best they can.