Why Domestic Violence Victims Stay

• Denial: Trying to deny the abuse and refusing to believe that it could happen in the relationship.
• Hope: Not wanting to give up hope that something might change.
• Shame:  Feeling ashamed or humiliated by the situation.
• Traumatic Bonding: Feeling emotionally and physically dependent upon the abuser.
• Guilt: Blaming oneself and feeling the abuse is deserved.
• Financial: Being so dependent on the abuser for money that it is very hard to leave.
• Practical: Worrying about support and basic needs if the abuser has threatened to take all that away.
• Children: Wanting the children to have a father-figure in their life and not get DSS involved.
• Pets: Feeling concerned about leaving the care of animals in the abuser’s care.
• Fear of Reprisal: Fearing that the abuse would intensify by leaving and then coming back.
• Spiritual/Religious: Believing that divorce is a sin and that marriage vows are “for better or worse.”