What causes women to repeatedly get involved in destructive relationships?
With the ever so frightening thought that 1 in 3 women have been in an abusive relationship, many wonder, why do they stay?
The main reason is that after repeatedly being abused, women’s brain processing changes, and they start believing that this is normal behavior from their partner. That he had to do it because he was too stressed, too frustrated, or too angry, but he would have never done it if he was in his right state of mind. Or that, they deserved it because they did something their partner didn't approve of.
Another primary reason is money. The abuser will make sure to trap them to keep them by their side forever, so that they have someone to abuse. It is an especially strong motive for women to stay because they don’t have money on their own or it’s linked to their partners, meaning they know they can’t escape. Another instance of this is when children are involved because even if the woman isn’t happy, as long as their child can survive, they can endure everything, which is a tool abusers can use to their advantage every time the woman may want to break free of the relationship.
And lastly, because those types of relationships are all they have ever known. This is why some people are known to “attract” abusers. When a woman is abused in their childhood, they may involuntarily repeatedly search for men who fit the characteristics of who she was abused by.
In conclusion, the main reason women are repeatedly in abusive relationships is not because of the amount of love for their significant other, it is because after repeated abuse their partner will try to trap them in any way they can.
By Dasha Nino, Step 10
