Finding a safer life

Focusing on the victim’s role in staying safe is intended to draw attention to the ways that some women do end assaultive relationships despite the risk to themselves (Burman, 2003), and to “glean some insights into their survival skills and the strengths that are utilized to make the decision to leave, act upon, and sustain that goal” (Burman, p. 84). [...] However, Sylaska and Edwards found some overlap in these frameworks, in that all three examine the roles of different levels of internal and external factors related to the disclosure process; both the feminist/survivor and process/ transtheoretical frameworks focus on victims as survivors or active agents within the disclosure and help-seeking efforts; and both the ecological and process/transthe [...] If the abuse continues in the relationship despite the woman’s efforts to make changes to her role as mother and wife, the woman may begin to see the batterer as responsible for the abusive behaviour. [...] If a woman is in the precontemplation phase, Burman suggests that a primary treatment goal is to provide her with information about the seriousness of abuse, and increase her understanding of the personal risks involved in continuing the relationship. [...] She experiences increased cognitive dissonance with the two contrasting parts of the relationship, and her awareness of the abuse comes more to the forefront of her consciousness.