It has been condoned throughout history. Woman abuse occurs more often among certain groups of people. Woman abuse occurs in all ethnic, racial, economic, religious and age groups. However, violence in more affluent groups is often hidden because these women use shelters, legal clinics and other social services less often.
Women remain in abusive relationships because they want to stay.
The real cause of wife assault is the batterer's desire for power and control over his partner. Batterers often use alcohol as an excuse to avoid taking responsibility for abusive behaviour. Men who assault their partners are mentally ill. Research shows that no personality traits or clinical factors set abusive men apart from the general population 5 . This is supported by a recent study in which one in five Canadian men living with a woman admitted to using violence against his partner 6 .