The Cycle Theory of Violence

Phase 1: Tension Building

During this time, the battered woman feels as though the pressure is mounting and anticipates that a severely abusive incident is imminent. Although it is not unusual for physical abuse to take place, this stage is characterized by primarily verbal abuse, with minor battering incidents. The woman usually accepts some of the responsibility for her batterer's actions, not because she believes that she should be abused, but because she hopes her behavior can prevent the abuse from escalating. She may be nurturing and compliant or try to avoid her batterer so as to not provoke him.

Walker suggests that the battered woman uses denial as a psychological defense, denying her own anger at being hurt in order to help herself cope. She may identify with her batterer's faulty reasoning, blaming his abusive behavior on her own inability to please him. For example, she may reason that perhaps the meal she prepared was overcooked, or she should have kept the children quieter. Additionally, the woman may attribute her batterer's behavior to external factors, such as his alcohol use or work-related stress. These attributions provide her with a false sense of hope; she believes that if she waits it out, the situation will change and her batterer's behavior will improve. However, these minor battering incidents will merely escalate, and her behavior can only, at best, delay the second phase of the battering cycle, the acute battering incident.

Phase 2: Acute Battering Incident

Eventually, all strategies become ineffective, and the batterer ceases to respond to any controls. The second stage, the briefest of the three stages, is described by Walker as the uncontrollable release of the tensions that were built up in the earlier phase. During this phase, major battering occurs.

In Phase 2, contrary to Phase 1, the batterer assumes full responsibility for the battering, acknowledging that his rage was out of control. Often, the batterer focuses on justifying his behavior. His initial objective was to “teach her a lesson,” not intending to inflict any particular injury on her. However, by the time he stops, she has usually been severely beaten. [Page 117]The movement from Phase 1 to Phase 2 is typically attributed to external causes or the batterer's internal state, such as alcohol use or stress, rather than the battered woman's behavior.

If the police are called at all, it is usually during Phase 2 (although fewer than 10% of the women in Walker's study had ever notified the police). However, many battered women believe that police contact will not prevent future abuse and may escalate the violence. Consequently, battered women are often reluctant to pursue police action and may even be hostile toward responding officers.

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