“We know that a woman is harmed, maimed or injured every minute of every day. That woman is someone's mother, daughter, sister, lover, wife, friend, in-law, co-worker.”

—Assaulted Women's Helpline

What Is Abuse?

At Ernestine's, we recognize that abuse takes many different forms, ranging from name-calling, emotional and psychological violence to physical and sexual battery. Any woman or child can suffer abuse, regardless of race, class, age, sexual orientation, geographical location and physical challenge. Furthermore, we recognize that negative social attitudes, such as racism, classism, sexism, homophobia and discrimination against differently abled persons, continue to increase the isolation and abuse of women.

Woman Abuse: Dispelling the Myths

Myth	Fact
1. Woman abuse is a new social problem.	Woman abuse is not new. It has been condoned throughout history. For example, the widely used term "rule of thumb" comes from a 1767 English common law that permitted a husband to "chastise his wife with a whip or rattan no wider than his thumb."
2. 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.
3. Women remain in abusive relationships because they want to stay.	A woman may feel she cannot leave an abusive relationship for many reasons: she hopes the relationship will get better she doesn't want to break up the family her partner's abuse isolates her from friends and family she is afraid her family and community will blame her for the abuse or encourage her to stay she feels ashamed and blames herself for the abuse she fears for her own and her children's safety she depends upon her partner's income she has lost self-esteem because of her partner's abuse she has nowhere else to go her partner has threatened to harm her if she leaves
4. Men who assault their partners are mentally ill.	The psychological characteristics of batterers are extremely diverse, so much so that no single pathology can be linked to battering. Research shows that no personality traits or clinical factors set abusive men apart from the general population. This is supported by a recent study in which one in 5 Canadian men living with a woman admitted to using violence against his partner. Most men who assault their partners are not violent outside the home. They do not hit their bosses or colleagues. When abusive men hit their partners, they often aim the blows at parts of the body where bruises don't show. If abusive men were truly mentally ill, they could not selectively limit and control their violence.

For more information on Abuse, visit the following web pages:

• National Centre for Research of Violence Against Women and Children
• Education Wife Assault