Customer Reviews

Battered Woman

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The book, "Battered Women" by Lenore Walker offered a unique insight into the horrifying conditions that battered women had to endure in abusive relationships. Plenty of statistics, facts and figures were provided, but references and citations were almost non-existent. Worse still, there was no bibliography and this reader was left to "figure out" where the statistics came from.

Readers should not draw generalizations from the book either, since all information in the book regarding battered women were taken from a selected group and was therefore not representative of a random sample from which unbiased, objective generalizations could be made.

The book would make ideal "awareness" literature, but given its shortcomings, the book should not be used as "scholarly" reference.

I agree with both previous reviewers in that the book does lack extensive references. The point, though, is that this was a seminal work when it was published in 1979. The cycle theory of violence had not been clearly articulated prior to this book. Walker also worked on developing the idea of learned helplessnes in victims of domestic violence. Both theories are important and although psychologists and DV advocates have since expanded on both and developed new ideas, Walker's ideas still have a place in the history of the development of an understanding of battered women's lives and experiences. I would recommend it as a good starting point in a reader's search for an understanding of domestic violence. Since then, more authoritative texts based on more extensive and better-documented research have been published, but The Battered Woman serves it's instructive purpose well. It provides the shock value and pain that a reader must experience in order to begin to understand the full impact of DV upon its victims.

Walker has attempted to explain how battering incidents occur, what a battered woman is, how one gets out of a battering relationship, and why there are battering relationships in society. Although Walker does a thorough job answering these questions, her work has been in print thirty-one years. Thus, it caused me as a reader to question the relevance of her work at the present time. If Walker's work is relevant to today, is her Cycle Theory of Violence relevant as well?

First of all, The Battered Woman has been in circulation since 1979. This has caused me to dismiss the book to some degree as irrelevant to the twenty-first century. Instead, I viewed Walker's work more as a breakthrough in understanding violence in relationships in the 1980's. I read the book more as an historical record. Walker indicates, "Some observers, including myself, estimate that as many as 50 percent of all women will be battering victims at some point in their lives" (ix). After this estimation, any reader will naturally assume that since 1979 there has been much progress in eliminating the battering problem; therefore, today's battering incidents must be at their lowest rates. Surprisingly, according to asafeplaceforhelp.org, "7% of women (3.9 million) are physically abused by their partners, and 37% (20.7 million) are verbally or emotionally abused," so the total number of women abused every year should be 43% (24.6 million). In this light, the battering problem as a whole still appears to remain large to this day, and Walker's book continues to offer insight and vital understanding about this problem.

Secondly, after establishing that Walker's work on the subject of abuse of women continues to be relevant to today's society, since the battering problem continues to prevail. New questions arise on the applicability of author's Cycle Theory of Violence to same-sex relationships. According to the National Organization for Women website, "Regional studies demonstrate domestic violence is as much of a problem within LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) communities as it is among heterosexual ones". Walker describes the Cycle Theory of Violence in three phases.

The first phase is regarded as the tension building stage, where minor battering incidents occur. In this stage women psychologically deny the reality of an incident and hide their anger through rationalization. To prevent the batterer's anger from escalating, a woman becomes "nurturing, compliant, and may anticipate his every whim; or she may stay out of his way" (56). The batterer translates this passive behavior as acceptance of his abuse and continues the abusive behavior. Meanwhile, the woman's anger continues to increase steadily with each consecutive minor battering incident. This leads to phase two, known as the acute battering incident. In this phase all the tension from phase one is released in uncontrollable nature. Both the degree of violence and the arrival of the acute stage are impossible to predict. After the acute battering incident, the final phase, referred to as kindness and contrite loving behavior or "honeymoon phase," follows. In this phase "the batterer constantly behaves in a charming and loving manner" (65). The batterer is sorry for his actions, asks for forgiveness, promises he will never behave that way again, and thinks he can control himself after what has happened. Because of the honeymoon phase, the woman is convinced that abusive behavior will cease and remains in the relationship. The end of third phase is marked by the beginning of minor battering incidents.

Walker describes all three phases in terms of the man as a batterer and the woman as a victim. Therefore, it becomes difficult to apply the Cycle Theory of Violence to same-sex couples, especially lesbians, since, according to the author's model, the batterer is assumed to be always a male of "all ages, races, religions(including no religion), education levels, cultures, and socioeconomic groups" (36). In the comparison to same-sex couples, Walker's outline of common characteristics of battered women and men who batter appears to be inapplicable in statements like a battered woman "...is a traditionalist about the home, [and] strongly believes in family unity and the prescribed feminine sex-role stereotype." This approach is precisely incorrect since society's view of homosexual relationships is regarded specifically as non-traditional. If a battered woman stays in a relationship because tradition has been ingrained in her as a value, then how can one relate the same characteristics to a lesbian who stays in a same-sex relationship? That characteristic simply does not exist in battering relationships among lesbians, yet the battering occurs there too. Perhaps this particular characteristic and others should be withheld altogether if we are to study why battering occurs in relationships as a whole.

In the end, Walker is regarded as a pioneer for speaking out about domestic violence against women. She has done an incredible job defining what a battered woman is through her Cycle Theory of Violence. Although there is no mention of why Walker has not included same-sex battering relationships in her studies, she states,
"This is a self-volunteered sample. These women were not randomly selected, and they cannot be considered a legitimate data base from which to make specific generalizations. Therefore, throughout this book I have attempted not to use statistics to analyze any of the data. Rather, I have concentrated on the commonalities expressed by the battered women and generalized from them" (xiii).
Based on her statement, the self-volunteered sample is hardly a random sample. Thus, it is difficult to know how accurately Walker's sample reflects the entire population. I also question whether Walker had included a courtesy bias in her interviews since the author specifically states in the introduction that her feminist views were reflected in her private psychotherapy. Nevertheless, Walker's book definitely emphasizes the domestic violence and undoubtedly raised a much needed awareness of the problem in 1979.

...especially since even now the leading cause of women going to emergency rooms in the U.S. is domestic violence. Having worked as a counselor in the DV field for some years, I've seen the damage done and know it to be vastly underestimated, statistically and otherwise, even now. Walker led the charge against the kind of denial and victim-blaming that would claim the entire mess--which amounts to nothing less than terrorism in the home--is some kind of mistake, miscommunication, family problem, or lie.

I have bought at least 12 copies of this book. I feel it is extremely important work and should be read by all young women. I give mine away so much that I keep replacing my own copy. Bravo! Ms. Walker!

I read this book in 1983. It was the ONLY book that addressed this subject available in the San Francisco Public Library at that time. I remember thinking "Someone actually wrote a book about what is happening to me?" As I read it, it rang so true in many ways, that it gave me the strength to make my Plan and eventually escape.

Another reader says: <this reader was left to "figure out" where the statistics came from.> That's because half this stuff is made up! Walker is one of the people who started the "Super Bowl Wife Abuse" myth. She hurts the cause more than help it - like the boy who cried wolf.