maslak@sri-unix.ARPA (Valerie Maslak) (10/15/86)
I tried unsuccessfully to post this note yesterday; if it sneaked through and I'm repeating myself, I apologize to all. I wanted to contribute to the discussion of why women put up with abusive (or at least nonsupportive) relationships by mentioning that I heard at a conference I attended last week that 1 out of 3 women are sexually, emotionally, or physically abused at some time before they reach adulthood. It was really frightening to hear the repeated stories of lack of self-esteem, willingness to tolerate unloving relationships, and fear and self-blame that women suffer after they've been victimized by abusers. And these are problems that many women carry with them their entire lives, because even admitting the abuse on an intellectual level doesn't heal the scars on an emotional one. Also frightening to hear that boys who are abused often grow up to be abusers!