Much of this part looks at looks at some of the core beliefs held not only by the perpetrator of violence, but frequently by members of society at large - including members of the caring professions and the police. The violence frequently escalates. Frequently the batterer succeeds in isolating the woman from sources of help. If you are surviving and living in fear for long periods of time,you learn to believe that there is no way out, you learn to believe that there is no hope, and it is this feeling of helplessness that is primarily what you do experience. We are invited to consider that the perpetrator's problem is not that of control or of anger management.
Perpetrators frequently can control themselves in other situations.
Rather, the violence is being used as a method of control , and is considered to be an acceptable way of solving problems. Towards the end of the first part, and in the second part of the trilogy, there is emphasis on the importance of the correct response. In particular, the battered woman requires a safe environment, support in her decisions, and a door left open for further disclosure. In the middle part of the trilogy we are given guidelines about how to respond when a woman discloses domestic violence. It is, for example, important to show the woman that she is taken seriously.