The repeating phases, victim conditioning, and the long-term consequences make up the broad cycle of domestic violence due to their influence over the members of the family.
Domestic violence is “an ongoing, debilitating experience of physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse in the home, associated with increased isolation from the outside world and limited personal freedom and accessibility to resources” (American Medical Association). This act of intentional harm of another person does not happen out of the blue, there are many stages, which have no particular starting point, that contribute to the cycle of domestic violence. Although the particular phases that construct the wheel may vary based on the difference in circumstances, the main intension of the cycle …show more content…
Battering is “to beat with successive blows so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; to subject to strong, overwhelming, or repeated attack” (Merriam-Webster). The use of physical violence against a person allows for the dominant partner to gain the control over the situation and the victim, while also asserting the power he or she holds over the other. The battering can also be sexual in nature, dependent on the situation at hand. This can occur when one partner refuses to have sexual intercourse with the other, or fails to fulfill the abusers sexual desires; the outcome of this type of abuse is mostly rape. There is a tension-building phase, which leads up to the active battering phase. During the tension-building phase, the abused party may feel like he or she is walking on eggshells around the other, waiting for the abuse to occur. The victim may do anything in his or her power to prevent the abuse from occurring, however it is inevitable. (The Cycle of Domestic Violence) A trigger, which is something that starts the abuse and occurs “[in] the presence of an external event or by the abuser’s emotional state—but not by the victim’s behavior. This means the start of the battering episode is unpredictable and beyond the victim’s control” (The Cycle of Domestic Violence). Once the trigger episode transpires, the violence ensues; it could last for five