Why Do Partners Batter?

There are several misconceptions about the causes of domestic violence. It is key to understanding domestic violence is not an event, but a repeated pattern of abuse used by one person to maintain power and control over an intimate partner.

The following are assumptions about causes of domestic violence:

• Anger causes violence
• Stress causes violence
• Alcohol and drugs cause violence
• The victim provoked the violence
• It takes two to tango

Commonly held assumptions about causes of domestic violence tend to get batterers "off the hook" while blaming the victim or situation. Domestic violence is NOT caused by:

• Illness
• Genetics
• Substance abuse
• Out-of-control anger
• Stress
• Behavior of the victim or problems in the relationship

Domestic violence is caused by the batterer's decision to batter based on:

• What the batterer learned through observation
• What the batterer learned through experience and reinforcement
• What the batterer learned in the culture
• What the batterer learned in the family
• What the batterer learned in the community

From Ohio Domestic Violence Network, "Domestic Violence Advocacy Fundamentals, 2002."