Who is a batterer?
Whether a woman is a new immigrant or third generation Arab American, whether she is a high school drop out or a doctor, she can be a victim of domestic violence. What survivors share is the strength to pick up the pieces of their lives after their marriages ended. Mona’s husband did not stop beating her after their parents were told. The abuse continued for the remaining eight years of their marriage. Worse was that he would berate her in front of her children, causing her son to cry and shake from fear. On a few occasions, he hit their son hard enough to leave marks. Mona always considered herself a strong and independent woman, but after years of such treatment, she doubted herself and felt she had lost her identity. “Why didn’t you leave?” we asked her. “I did not believe in divorce. My family did not believe in divorce. My community did not believe in divorce. I didn’t want to be the subject of gossip. I didn’t want people to look at me as if I was a pariah.” Her torment ended whe
