Low self esteem
Or rather, a total lack of self esteem, infused during childhood, is the real cause of why women stay with abusive men. They are so afraid to be alone, to be independent, to be responsible of their own lives, because they think that they don´t have the power to do that. They have been taught by their parents and other authorities in their lives that they are nothing worth and unfortunately believes it. What they need is help to build up their self esteem, so that they can come to the point where they realize that they have a value by themselves and should be treated with respect. That realization will then automatically make them revalue their abusive relationships.
An irritating incident:
I got attacked by my cat once. She had kittens and we were moving to another city. So we had locked her and the kittens in the toilet, while moving out the furniture. Well, I had to visit the toilet and while washing my hands I heard one of the kittens mjauing and bent down to look if something was wrong. Then she, the mother, flew up into my face and bit and scratched me for all that she was worth. Luckily I closed my eyes in time and took a steady grip around her throat and ran out of the toilet , screaming in pure panic, with the blood pulsating out of my nose and other places.
Anyway, I got rescued and we went to the hospital, where the doctor to our big surprise and dissapointment didn´t believe that my injuries could have been caused by a cat. He insinuated that my boyfriend had beaten me. We were very offended and felt incredibly upset by this, because no matter how much I insured the doctor that this wasn´t the case, he obviously didn´t believe me at all.
Just so you know, everything isn´t always as it seems....