The Cycle of Violence

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HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 18: Violence Against Women > The Cycle of Violence

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

Violence in a relationship often follows a pattern that repeats over time. The first time may seem like an isolated event, but in many cases a cycle develops.

Violence

Tension builds

Calm period

• Violence: hitting, slapping, kicking, choking, use of objects or weapons, sexual abuse, verbal threats and abuse.
• Calm period: The abuser may deny the violence, make excuses, apologize, or promise it will never happen again.
• Tension builds: anger, arguing, blaming, verbal abuse.

For some people, the cycle of violence happens in only a few hours. For others, it lasts a few months. As time goes on, the calm period gets shorter and the cycles happen more often.

This page was updated:22 Jan 2024