Reasons why women can’t leave abusive relationships

When you hear about an abusive relationship it’s easy to think, ‘why don’t they just leave?’ But in reality it’s a lot harder than just walking out the door and never looking back.

Understanding some of the reasons why women can’t leave abusive relationships could give you a better empathetic feeling towards someone who tells you they’re being abused by their partner and allow you to offer advice on what they could possibly do.

Abusive relationships come in all different forms and happen a lot more than we’d like to believe, so knowing the reasons why women can’t walk away could help you, a family member or a friend see things a little clearer and get the help that’s needed to make the change that’s needed.

Isolation

Victims of abuse are likely to have been isolated from their loved ones, in order to stop them from seeking support. This isolation stops them from seeing that the behaviour they’re experiencing is wrong, and means that they depend on their abuser more and more.

Fear

Not only is fear of the unknown that might stop people leaving abusive relationships, but fear for their safety too. The likelihood of violence increases after a separation and there are figures to show that women killed by their ex partner are likely to be killed within the first year of separation.

Embarrassment

Victims of abuse might not have always been a victim, they could have very well been a lively and confident person before the abuse began and because of this they could been embarrassed by the person they’ve become.

Practicality

If an abuser has forced the victim to quit their job, or take control of their finances, the practicality of leaving might be non-existent. If you’re a victim of abuse however you can claim for compensation, and CICA UK can help to get the money you deserve and quite possibly need to move on with your life.

Low-self esteem

Victims of abuse are often told regularly that they’re worthless and don’t matter, so this is of course going to impact their self-esteem. Not only do they feel low about themselves, but they’re made to believe they couldn’t cope without their partner, so feel compelled to stay with them to survive. 

*Header photo via Pexels

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