Humiliates in public or private Threatens harm if relationship ends. Battering is the single largest cause of injury to women in the United States - over muggings, auto accidents, and rape combined. As many as one in three women may be battered. Battering happens in rich families as well as poor and to women of all nationalities. Each year more than one million women seek medical treatment for injuries inflicted by husbands, ex-husbands or boyfriends.
Abuse does happen in dating relationships.
Children witnessing their mother being beaten are highly traumatized, and boys who witness the abuse of their mothers may be more likely to abuse their own partners.