Violence at the Door

In this article, the authors present their clinical experience with more than 30 lesbian batterers in a large city and a small rural community. Data are offered on the psychological profile of batterers and relationships in which abuse occurs. Two treatment models are described: group therapy and a three-phase community model. The authors suggest that lesbian batterers are women who have broken the norm of compliant victim, running counter to the developmental expectations of female survivors of childhood family violence.