DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DYNAMICS/D.V. Advocacy Fundamentals

Prepared by Anne L. Ganley, PhD. For the Family Violence Prevention Fund.

Ohio Domestic Violence Network, 2002

 The following are the common assumptions about causes of violence.

·                      Anger causes violence.
·                      Stress causes violence.
·                      Alcohol and/drugs cause violence.
·                      It takes two to tango.

As you can see, commonly held assumptions about causes of domestic violence tend to get the batterers “off the hook” while blaming the victims.

Domestic violence is NOT caused by:

·                      Illness
·                      Genetics
·                      Alcohol and/or drugs
·                      Stress
·                      Behavior of the victim or problems in the relationship

 Domestic violence is caused by the batterer’s decision to batter based on:

·                      What he learned through observation
·                      What he learned through experience and reinforcement
·                      What he learned in the culture
·                      What he learned in the family
·                      What he learned in the communities

 Learn all you can, it could save a life, even yours or the life of your children.