by Ken Bradford

Created on: October 24, 2008   Last Updated: November 03, 2011

If you have ever had a friend or loved one who is or was a victim of domestic violence, there must have been times when you were totally baffled. First of all, you couldn't understand how a man could be so cold and mean as to beat up on a woman and you certainly couldn't understand why she stayed in that violent environment.

Before we get involved in trying to understand the victim of domestic violence, we must first understand who the victims are.

According to the U. S. Department of Justice, the majority of domestic violence victims are women. These victims fall into no special category. Domestic violence involves victims from all races, backgrounds, religions and walks of life. They may be stay-at-home moms, unemployed, highly paid professionals or members of the armed forces. There may be victims of domestic violence in your own neighborhood or in the congregation of your church.

Surveys conducted in the United States indicate that 22% of all women are physically assaulted by a partner or date during their lifetime. There are no statistics on the psychological and emotional abuse, which in many cases can be as devastating as the bruises and broken bones.  Estimates from the Faith Trust Institute  indicate that approximately 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.  Exact figures on the occurrences of domestic violence are very difficult to compile, since most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.

Now, that we have exposed the myth that domestic violence only happens to poor people in poor neighborhoods, we can move on in our efforts to understand the victims.

Domestic violence victims enter into a relationship, whether it is marriage or just a live-in arrangement, just like anyone else. These women want companionship, a friend and someone to share all the good times as well as the bad.

Many women, unfortunately, make the wrong decision and instead of getting a partner, they actually put themselves in a "master" and "servant" type relationship.  Some men just seem to feel that they own women as property and they are the only ones who know what's best in a relationship.

Domestic violence doesn't always begin with physical violence and when the male partner starts calling her names and does everything in his power to intimidate and control her, she oftentimes takes this as just normal behavior for that particular person.  She's right; it is "normal" behavior, but it

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