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Any woman you know could become a victim of this type of abuse -- no matter what her personality or fortitude -- it's very simply a matter of time and persistence on the part of the abuser.
It's very rare for an abusive spouse to start out by slamming someone into a wall or giving them a black eye -- most of it's mental to start with -- isolation, persistent but subtle degradation which in turn leads to more overt abuse, as the victim becomes desensitized to the low level abuse and doesn't realize what is really going on.
This holds true in cases of child abuse as well -- what starts out as a slap for something major turns into a slap for something minor and the cycle feeds on itself.
The abuser generally has very low self esteem and serious ego issues -- by gaining control, and therefore power, over those they abuse, they gain greater momentum and eventually get way out of control.
Kind of like doing something you know is wrong -- if you do it on a small scale the first time and get away with it, you'll get bolder at it, and the change is gradual enough that you may not realize you've become crazy with it until it's too late.
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