In general, husbands were obligated to respect their wives, and wives, in turn, were expected to be good companions. It cannot be judged whether or not complaints of abuse came frequently before the rabbinical courts. They were not unheard of, however. Those questions, for now, are unanswered. What remains significant is that spousal abuse has been a known phenomenon in centuries gone by, and is not new to the modern era, or America after the women's movement.
Sanctions do exist against the mistreatment of wives.
In our society the family is viewed as a sacred institution with intra-familial love and support believed to be the norm. The stigma attached to the admission of violence in families is great. The lack of admission and discussion of the problem by both batterers and their victims allows the community to reinforce the myth that the problem does not exist. This vicious cycle reinforces the isolation and the ostracism of the violent families. The cycle needs to be broken.