Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
condition that can result when a person experience abuse usually at the hands of
million women per year experience physical abuse and the majority of batterers
are male. People who find themselves in an abusive relationship often do not feel
safe or happy. They feel that they are the cause of abuse that leads to emotional
withdrawal. Yet, they feel unable to leave for many reasons such as love and
religion. Thus, Battered Woman Syndrome is an abuse that can affect women of
The aim of this paper is to inform people that Battered Woman Syndrome
describe the effects that will last for a short span of time or effects that will occur
soon rather than in the distant future. It includes low self-esteem, fearfulness,
anxiety, panic attack, insomnia, and helplessness. Although these effects are on
damage to the victim when the abuser continuously do any acts of abuse
Low Self-Esteem
been performed that discusses the effects that violence has on women, not only
physically and emotionally but mentally as well. Violence in women has been
doubt themselves, which can promote maintaining relations with the abuser
because without the abuser, they reduce their quality of life. They feel the sense
of being worthless and are incapable in social situations and inadequate in doing
any work or accomplishment. They focus on not making mistakes in life that
unlovable, unlikable, and flawed causing them to feel unappreciated. They feel
reported that one out of five women aged 15-49 years old or 14.40% of married
woman suffered from physical abuse from their husbands; one in ten woman
every four Filipino woman has experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
This insight leads to men being traditionally labeled as leaders and providers,
while women are seen as nurturers and supporters. This perception leads to men
gaining more power over women, which may then lead to Violence Against
Women (VAW) if this perception becomes out of control. VAW is a form of men’s
VAW, may feel awkward, shy, conspicuous and unable to express themselves
Fearfulness
Battered women live with many fears; fear of the abuses, fear of physical
harm or injury, and fear that she has caused the problem. When a woman
decides to leave the abusive situations, her fears only increase; fear that no one
will believe her, fear of economic hardship, fear of the criminal justice system or
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social services, fear of reprisal by the abuser against her, her children, or her
friends and loved ones. These fears are based on reality and should not be
dismissed. This fear could eventually lead to a long term consequence which is
Once the battering begins, an abrupt surge of intense fear can cause a
tend to fight the situation because they love the abuser or afraid of losing him.
The latter shows that women have tendency to escape the situation and leave
things behind. Fear is the main reason of battered woman to not leave her
abusive partner. It escalates from threats, verbal, and physical assault. These
Despite what many people believe, battering woman does not take place
because of an abuser loses control over behavior. In fact, abusive behavior and
violence is a deliberate choice to gain control and superiority over the abused.
Anxiety
Wife abuse has long been a feature of marriage in societies in which men
believed to have the right to dominate their lives. Women who have lived
through the cycle of violence may experience a stress response that includes
physical injury. Historically, term such as wife battering or wife abuse have been
used to describe this occurrence. Battered women are more likely to suffer from
Panic Attack
Battering creates many anxious moments. But when the pressures of life
continually increase, one may fell anxious all of the time. The pressure can be so
great that a person would wonder if he or she will be able to carry the load of
anxiety even one step further. Anxiety in general is difficult to control, but when
this anxiety gets out of hand, a person may experience a sudden onset of
intense apprehension fear, and panic with no apparent cause. When this
happens, the general anxiety that the abused has developed, may have turned
into a more serious type of anxiety, called Panic Attacks. If left untreated, and
sweating, and fear of dying. Panic attack is not directly linked to death but it can
terms of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder, women are said to be 2-3 times more
likely to be affected than men. The social factor identified as contributory to the
usually see panic disorder in the young adult but this disorder may develop at
any age. In addition, Panic Disorder has been reported to occur even in children
and in adolescents.
Insomnia
Intimate partner violence puts the victim at risk for substantial medical
times per week. Women who are depressed have more severe PTSD and were
more likely to have insomnia and nightmares than women who do not suffer
from depression.
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partner violence, with both insomnia and nightmares predicting the presence of
depression even after controlling for PSTD severity. Insomnia causes fatigue,
devastating because people with this disorder are more prone to accidents.
Helplessness
psychological rationale for why some women remain in a battering situation and
what happens to them psychologically. Abused women have learned that their
them, and it is difficult for them to alter their principles to believe that their
competent actions can change their life situation. Battered women do not like
being beaten and they will not leave their husbands or partners because of
Helpless battered women believed that there is nothing that anyone can
do to improve a bad situation or battering. They are certain that the control over
the situation or its outcomes are impossible. They feel that there is no one to
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help them in the situation and there is no way to escape it. The lack of support
from family and friends tends to display the main for women to feel helpless and
powerless.
(PSTD), depression, and suicide attempt that is a worldwide problem and can
affect women at any point. This can be a result of experiencing trauma and
had this syndrome experiences the effects that last for 12 months or more after
disorder (DPD) develop symptoms of anxiety when they are not around others.
They rely on other people for comfort, reassurance, advice, and support.
degrees of dependence on others which one normal and socially accepted and
over dependent on other people and spend great effort trying to please others.
passive, and clinging behavior, and have a fear of separation. Battered women
are dependent to their abuser for many reasons. First, battered women have the
fear that they cannot live without the abuser because of economics. If they leave
the abuser, they are no longer sustained financially and are not able to survive.
Another factor is that battered women are dependent to their abuser for the
reason that they have children. Their children need support in every aspect of
their lives and must live in a complete family. The battered women fear that
people may not side with them if they leave the abuser in their toxic relationship.
They need the abuser for people to believe that they are being abused and are
can lead to the development of dependent personality traits in people who are
Trauma
the emotions involved with that experience. It is the damage of mind due to
Battering and its effects are complex phenomena, which often are not well
confront an array of psychological issues that suffer in both type and intensity.
reactions are common among those who have been exposed to these traumatic
psychological effects such as fear and anxiety. Trauma can affect women’s belief
about the situation via loss of hope, limited expectations that the abuser will
change, fear that life will end abruptly, or anticipation that normal life would not
avoidance, and triggers, the trauma may have transmitted to a more serious
negative thoughts and feelings, arousal and reactive symptoms. Also known as
feeling sadness, and fear or anger, and estranged from other people.
involving threat to life and physical integrity that results in feelings of fear,
others.
relationship between IPV and PSTD: the more type of IPV experience such as
battering, the greater the number of the woman’s PSTD symptoms. Similarly, in
other studies, battered women displayed higher rate of PSTD, depressive and
Depression
they may lose interesting the activities that they once enjoyed. Women who are
depressed experience five or more symptoms during the same 2-week period
and at least one of the symptoms should be either depressed mood or loss of
thoughts of death.
In the Philippines, 3.3 million Filipinos suffer from depressive disorder with
Suicide Attempt
Suicide and suicide attempts by battered women occur below the radar of
most professionals working to end violence against women. Few battered women
preliminary insight into the significant risk that intimate partner violence poses
distress. As a result of battering, women endure intense pain mixed with guilt,
anger, and regret. Severe depression is one of the cause why battered women
attempted suicide. Continuous battering to the woman cultivate the principle that
they are the cause of the problem and the only way out is to kill themselves.
They are trying to take control of their destiny and alleviate their own suffering.
They lack the fear of pain and death and are fearless to attempt the suicide act.
the reasons why women attempt to kill themselves. Research shows that one
patient had made 15 attempts. Depression and PSTD may be results of ongoing
abuse from partner or lingering after effects of a trauma occurring years earlier.
Some battered females with suicidal tendencies indicate that they still deal with
effects can trigger suicidal thoughts when victims blame themselves for their
abuse. Research shows that women in battering situations are more likely to
among the leading causes of death in the Western Pacific Region. The Philippines
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is one of the most populous countries in the Western Pacific, yet very little is
known about the epidemiology of suicide and suicidal behavior in the country.
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Summary
often are not well understood by the lay public. It is a worldwide problem and
can affect any women at any point. In addition to physical injury, individuals who
differ in type and intensity. Although individual women experience and respond
to battering, a number of reactions are common among those who have been
effects such as low self-esteem, anxiety, fearfulness, panic attack, insomnia, and
traumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicide attempt. These factors play a
vital role for women to have these effects. Abuse can affect women of any age,
Conclusion
fact that battering has adverse effect on those who have been exposed to it. The
syndrome is real thus the battered woman needs strength and counseling, as
end the stigma surrounding mental health concerns, and to avoid more serious
women to know their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, battered women do not
punishment. These women do not pose threats to society, but are usually
contributing citizens. The media, school, and even the politicians, must educate
the nation’s masses to the reality that violence does not pay and abuse will not
be tolerated, on any level. Society should never encourage abuse from ends,
battered women are given no choice but to fight back and end their torture.
Granting full legal recognition to the BWS will neither be granting a license to kill,
nor encouraging murder. What it will do is force our nation to realize that the
abuse is real, that it touches us all, and that we must amend adequate support
systems to assist its victims. However, until a perfect victimless utopia is created,
Recommendation
curb the menace of domestic violence against women, there is a rise in domestic
prevention programs
syndrome.
6. Every strata of society must contribute to ensure a violence free life for
every woman.
abuse