battering phase. Once the acute battering phase ends, usually within two to twenty-four hours, the parties enter the calm loving respite phase, in which the batterer expresses remorse and promises to change. After the cycle has played out several times, the victim begins to manifest symptoms of learned helplessness. Behavioral modification strategies offer an effective treatment for battered women's syndrome. However, Dr. Walker's model indicates that battered women may not seek the help that they need because of feelings of helplessness.II. An Alternate Battered Women's Syndrome Theory: Battered Women as Survivors.Over the years, empirical data has emerged that casts doubt on Dr. Walker's explanation of why women stay with their batterers or, in extreme cases, why they kill their abusers. Two researchers, Edward W. Gondolf and Ellen R. Fisher, make reference to voluminous statistics that refute the classical battered women's syndrome theory, and suggest Dr. Walker erroneously attributes a victim's refusal to leave her batterer to learned helplessness. For instance, the two, in discounting Dr. Walker's theory, cite a study conducted by Lee H. Bowker that indicates victims of abuse often contact other family members for help as the violence escalates over time. The two also note that Bowker observed a steady increase in formal help-seeking behavior as the violence increased. In addition to citing empirical data, Gondolf and Fisher point out that using Dr. Walker's theory to explain the battered woman's actions in extreme cases creates the ultimate oxymoron: a woman so helpless she kills her batterer. In an effort to account for the shortcomings of the classical battered women's theory, Gondolf and Fisher offered the markedly different survivor theory of battered women's syndrome, which consists of four important elements.The first element of the survivor theory surmises that a pattern of abuse prompts battered women to employ innovative ...
