true. Mothers are responsible for about 30 percent of all child abuse. Women do most of the parenting in society, so when children are deprived of what they need to live, mothers are usually responsible. But, men commit most of the physical abuse, particularly when severe injury to children is involved. The ‘battering cycle’ consists of three phases that could vary in timing and intensity for the same couple and from one couple to the next: tension-building or ‘stress stage’, the explosion of acute battering or the ‘abusive incident’, and loving remorse also called the ‘honeymoon phase’. During the stress stage, there is ongoing emotional strain between victim and abuser as tension and frustration grows. Unresolved conflict and previous feelings of anger burn inside an abuser like a volcano ready to explode. During the next phase, the violence occurs. He becomes driven from within and the physical action is even pleasurable. It releases the pent-up tension and rage. The process feeds on itself, leading to faster and harder blows until the weapon is empty or destroyed or the abuser is exhausted. The repeat abuser becomes addicted to this tension release. It’s the only way he knows to rid himself of his bad feelings. When he finally explodes, his rage is uncontrollable. The victim is battered, verbally put down, sexually humiliated, threatened with violence and physically harmed. This could result in minor injuries to even death. During the ‘honeymoon phase’ the victim and abuser try to forget what has happened. The abuser either displays loving behaviour in attempts to reconcile, flatly denies what has happened, or promises to change. The abuser may even be absent entirely from the scene. Abusers may mentally reconstruct the act in order to blame the victim for having provoked the aggression. The victim tries to believe that the suffering is over and it is, temporarily, un...
