CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to the Issues
2. Understanding Alcohol Abuse
3. Understanding Violence Against Women
4. Alcohol and Domestic Violence
5. Alcohol, Sexual Assault, and Rape
6. Prevention and Early Intervention
7. Screening and Assessment
8. Diagnosis and Treatment
9. Legal and Ethical Issues

Supplements
Fact Sheets
Videos
Resources

Silence Hurts
Alcohol Abuse and Violence Against Women

Characteristics of Batterers

There is no simple way to describe a "typical" abuser. Abusers are as different from one another as any two people may be. However, studies have shown that abusers often have some things in common, such as feelings of low self-esteem, lack of trust, inability to take responsibility, and family history of substance abuse.⁸ Other characteristics often include:

• Feeling that their life is not worth anything
• Having a history of alcohol or drug abuse in their family
• Fearing loss of control and power
• Being out of touch with feelings other than anger
• Believing that men must always behave in certain ways and women in others
• Acting very charming sometimes but being very angry and mean at other times
• Not trusting people
• Wanting the woman all to himself
• Blaming others for their actions, not assuming responsibility for their actions
• Handling stress in an unhealthy way
• Believing that the male always rules the household
• Having experienced violence between their parents, or were abused by their parents, as a child
• Always thinking other people are hostile
• Having problems figuring out why other people act the way they do

Other similar characteristics among men who batter include an inability to express feelings in ways other than anger and an unwillingness to listen to their partner's thoughts. Many such men's behavior can also be described as unpredictable. Men who abuse fall mostly into one of three types:⁹

Type 1: Men who have experienced the most severe childhood physical abuse

Type 2: Men who have experienced the most severe parental rejection, and

Type 3: Men who have experienced less childhood trauma than the previous two.

Many people believe that men have no control over their violent behavior. Some people think these men are evil and lack morals. In reality, men who abuse women generally feel as if they have no control over their violence and do not enjoy acting violently. All of these perceptions fail to recognize the full reality in an abusive situation. The problem with abusive men is not that they have no morals or values. The problem is, they have learned to make poor choices that involve violent, abusive behavior. With proper treatment and much effort, men who are abusive can learn to make better choices and learn how to deal with others without using violence¹⁰