We're in a culture where women really aren't equal. How many CEOs are women? Over the years we have seen the ability of women to get higher in the pecking order, but we've gotten complacent. Women make 73 percent of what men make.
Unlike other homeless women, a battered woman has been the victim of power and control. She believes she can make no decisions. She doesn't know what her options are. To be successful, battered women need a lot of handholding in the beginning.
All those subtle messages are in our culture. The bottom line is, men batter women because they can.
