In 1895, the Married Women's Property Act gave women the right to use conviction for assault as sufficient grounds for divorce. The battered women's movement, which spearheaded the development and proliferation of shelters for battered woman, had its roots in the women's movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today there are over twelve hundred shelters in this country. Types of Abuse Abuse does not just mean physical abuse. It takes several different forms that I will briefly describe.
Emotional abuse can be in the form of repeated verbal attacks.
It can be coercing her into doing things that she may find humiliating or against her moral or religious principles. Isolation is a type of abuse. The batterer finds fault with social contacts of the victim including family members. The victims end up with nobody to confide in. The batterer may threaten to take or harm the children if she doesn't do what he wants her to do.