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Do you have the profile? (3/11)

There is no typical description of a woman victim of domestic violence …

… no more so then of the perpetrator of the violence …

• There is therefore no specific profile and nothing that can indicate that a woman is fated to become the victim of her husband's violence.

• Domestic violence is not the lot of a disadvantaged class. It is found in all social, economic and cultural groups, in all age ranges, in the city as well as the country, independently of the educational, religious or ethnic context.

• Contrary to common opinion, the majority of victims have a professional activity and receive a private revenue.

Multiple motives, often combined, can make a woman stay under the hold of a violent man:

Why violence ?

• The hope of a possible modification of her spouse's behavior
• Preserving the family unit, the concern of not depriving the children of a father as long as this violence doesn't endanger them
• Fear of having her children taken away
• Outside pressure, the disapproval of her entourage: a woman who wants to escape this type of situation must often do it alone, despite all opposition
• Social isolation, no opportunity to find help
• The lack of economic resources and materiel obstacles to overcome (finding housing, a job, a new home, …)
• Serious threats, fear of retaliation on her, her children, or close family and friends by her partner, her partner's suicide threats which intensify at the moment she decides to leave
• Not knowing her rights, a reticence to deal with institutions and, eventually, the legal system.

• The man who resorts to violence finds in its use a way to maintain a hold over his family and a control over his partner.
• This conduct is used as a way to settle conflicts, to end any opposition from his spouse and to get an immediate response to his needs.
• The use of violence is culturally reinforced by the commonplace image of virility, the masculine stereotype not encouraging another way to express emotions.
• Most often, violent men are "ordinary" men, they don't seem to have any obvious difficulties personally, professionally or socially. They can belong to any socio-professional category. For the most part, they know how to give a very respectable image of themselves outside the family circle: often, the violence within the couple is not even suspected by close family and friends.
• However, in general, these men have a rigid conception of the masculine and feminine roles, they minimize or deny their violence, they are afraid of losing their woman and they need her - which can in no way justify their behavior.

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