ABSTRACT
A number of victims, having approached services for help, later change their minds about it, often as arrangements are being made to help them. The police, in particular, have been quite bothered by it, mentioning it at a number of points in their evidence to the Select Committee on Violence in Marriage. The police claim that withdrawal makes individual officers cautious about arresting and charging violent husbands. It has also affected their general prosecution policy. ‘Being a victim of violence tends to erode your self-confidence. They become helpless and demoralized by the violence.’ (Social worker)‘The women get so cowed, enmeshed in family routine, they lose their independence and the mental wherewithal and resilience to stand up to the man. ‘Sometimes it seems to be a case of can’t live with each other and can’t live without each other’.
