Why do women stay in abusive marriages?

Like many other women out there, Judith faces domestic violence every day. According to Patrick Mwase, a counselling psychiatrist in Makerere University, Institute of Psychology, most women stay in abusive marriages because of the following reasons:

•Deep feelings of love and emotion for their abusive partner. The women get so attached to the man and bear all the pain for the sake of love. This attachment can be very hard to break so they stay.
•Financial dependence makes them stay because most of the women aren’t in control of the finances especially in case of the housewives. They use their financial situation as a reason to stay because they believe they will not easily find financial help elsewhere.
•Despite the emancipation campaign, most women still have a low self esteem. This is continually destroyed by the abusive partner. The woman may then take all the blame because she believes that she deserves to be punished.
•Sometimes the women fear the shame, embarrassment and humiliation from friends, family and the public. In some cultures and religious beliefs, marriage is considered sacred and it’s between the partners involved, therefore one cannot open up to anyone.
•The extended family pressures encountered by the women. This pressure can be within or outside the family e.g. friends, family and the media itself. The fear of leaving the children behind, promises of reform and fear or raising them alone makes them stay.
•Sex role conditioning. The women believe that men are just like that.
•The most dangerous reason is psychological dependence. This is when the woman surrenders all her emotional being to the abusive partner that is, their existence depends on the partner. Without him, they feel like they are emotionally dead. In this state they can endure all kinds of abuse as long as they stay with the partner. When threatened, one does whatever they have been asked because she believes that he will do whatever he threatens to do.