By Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D.

Brief Description

Far too often, domestic abuse survivors go from the frying pan to the fire on their way out of an abusive relationship. And they wonder how this can happen. While it doesn’t always happen, it’s more common than most people realize. This article shines the light on the concept of “systemic abuse,” what causes it, symptoms of it and what to do when entangled in it.

Body of Article

I lived systemic abuse; I write about it, I know it from the core of my being. But, I never understood it so thoroughly until I was asked to explain it to someone whose life was altered dramatically by it.

What is “systemic abuse?” The word “systemic” is defined as “relating to or referring to the whole organism.”

I liken systemic abuse to any systemic disease. It erodes the very elements that sustain the organism. Systemic abuse, as I see it, is the manifestation of abuse by that deemed to protect the abused. The net result: the perpetuation of domestic violence by the very systems that purport to stop it.

Survivors of domestic abuse far too often meet systemic abuse face-to-face in their efforts to seek safety from an abusive partner. She* can be the defendant in a domestic abuse arrest, the party restrained by an ex-parté order of protection, the protective parent with supervised visitation or the battered mother cut out of her abused children’s lives.

These victims are black, white, yellow and many of mixed origin. They are rich, poor, professional and many without technical skills. There are as many variations of the story of systemic abuse as there are people living it. And when it’s yours, you know it; not only do you feel violated, but you also see no aid, no options and you learn that you are your first responder.

What causes systemic abuse? …to be continued.

Footnote* Intimate partner violence crosses genders, however in heterosexual relationships females are more often on the receiving end of the battering dynamic, particularly those further subjected to systemic abuse. My reference to “she” as the abused or as the victim reflects this trend. But it does not imply that male partners are not victimized by their female or by their male partners, nor does it imply that females do not use the system to batter their victimized male partners.

If you think you are facing systemic abuse, learn the subtle communication patterns of abusive relationships by taking the Intimate Partner Screen AND if you are, you will surely see it and can overcome it before it blindsides you.

If you need help, contact Dr. Jeanne King Consultants, LLC.

©Copyright 2002-2007 Dr. Jeanne King Consultants, LLC www.PreventAbusiveRelationships.com
All Rights Reserved.

Author bio

Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, speaker and leading expert in identifying intimate partner violence and the subtle communication patterns of battering relationships. Author of All But My Soul: Abuse Beyond Control, Dr. King developed the Intimate Partner Abuse Screen to help people properly identify, understand and stop domestic abuse before it spirals out of control. For information on expert consulting on, and help with, systemic abuse, please contact Dr. Jeanne King Consultants, LLC.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 10:09 pm and is filed under Abuse Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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