| MYTH: |
Domestic violence is a "loss of
control." |
| FACT: |
Violent behavior is a choice. Perpetrators use it to control their victims.
Domestic violence is about batterers using their control, not losing their
control. Their actions are very deliberate. |
| |
|
| MYTH: |
The victim is responsible for the violence because she provokes it. |
| FACT: |
No one asks to be
abused. And no one deserves to be abused regardless of what they say or do. |
| |
|
| MYTH: |
If the victim didn't
like it, she would leave. |
| FACT: |
Victims do not like the
abuse. They stay in the relationship for many reasons, including fear. Most do
eventually leave. |
| |
|
| MYTH: |
Domestic violence only occurs in a small
percentage of relationships. |
| FACT: |
Estimates report that
domestic violence occurs in ¼ to ⅓ of all intimate relationships. This
applies to heterosexual as well as same-sex relationships. |
| |
|
| MYTH: |
Middle and upper class
women do not get battered as frequently as poor women. |
| FACT: |
Domestic violence occurs
in all socio-economical levels. Because women with money usually have more
access to resources, poorer women tend to utilize community agencies, and
are therefore more visible. |
| |
|
| MYTH: |
Batterers are violent in all their
relationships |
| FACT: |
Batterers choose to be violent toward their
partners in ways they would never consider treating other people.
|
| |
|
| MYTH: |
Alcohol/Drugs cause battering behavior. |
| FACT: |
Although many abusive partners also abuse
alcohol and/or drugs, this is not the underlying cause of the battering.
Many batterers use alcohol/drugs as an excuse to explain their violence. |
| |
|
| MYTH: |
Once a battered woman, always a battered
woman. |
| FACT: |
While some battered women have been in more
than one abusive relationship, women who receive domestic violence services
are the least likely to enter another abusive relationship.
|
