The plight of the battered wife†

The results and deductions are given from a Survey of 100 Battered Wives, seen at a Womens’ Aid Crisis Refuge and in psychiatric practice. The patterns and life history and the psycho‐social implications are discussed and deductions drawn. The pattern of how violence breeds and nurtures violence is shown, but results also postulate that it is possible for women to be drawn into a violent marital relationship, either by deprivation or by misdirected well‐meaning intent. Many of the relationships were of a precipitous type with the traditional values of courtship and engagement being replaced by pre‐marital sexual intercourse with consequent pregnancy.