She married him because she is an idiot.

[IdaBriggs]

17. Did she seriously look afraid of him to you?

Call it good acting, but not to me.

And I do NOT believe this was the first time their relationship was physically violent.

You can say she is putting herself "in more danger by seeking remedy from the police and courts" but the honest to goodness truth is that is NOT why she is staying at this point in time; there are options which can be found in two seconds while looking at a phone.

She might get there later -- staying from fear of what might happen if she leaves, but when things start, that isn't why they stay in the beginning.

No, it isn't uncommon. Yes, it is upsetting. No, I won't remove the title because I think it is more respectful than "stupid, terrified, weak, helpless, mind controlled, brain washed, inept, gold digging woman" all of which have been used to describe her publicly, which implies she is like an abused puppy-dog desperately in need of saving instead of a strong woman struggling to hold a relationship together despite the fact neither of them appears to have the tools to be in a healthy one.

Less than a hundred years ago social workers believed that the only reason women stayed with abusive partners was because of economic necessity. Well, today's woman can support herself financially, sometimes makes *more* than her partner, and yet domestic violence still occurs. Then we went through the "society doesn't discuss it" phase, which pretty much ended when OJ Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife and her friend, and got away with it, or maybe it was when Farrah Fawcett did a made-for-television movie called "The Burning Bed" where the "thought she was helpless, so she killed him" woman struck back. We're talking about it, but nothing is changing. Then the "resources aren't available" (except we now have a lot of them, but the epidemic is still going on), then the "they don't prosecute them anyway" which isn't true because yes, now they are being prosecuted, but you know what?

It is still going on, and the women are still staying until things get *really* bad, so maybe we should talk about other possible causes --

And I discussed them in my post.

Bottom line: She is NOT property. No one is making her stay. She does NOT want to walk away from the emotional investment she has in the relationship.

She is the victim of a crime. Odds are *very* good she will be again. There is a time and a place for "poor baby" supportive comments. This message board is not one of them.