Camalaniugan

We once thought that abuse was something that happened in the families occasionally. We felt that it wasn’t nice, but that things like this just happened. We did not know that family violence is predictable. This attitude has often lulled us into inaction. And so, knowledge about violence its patter, its pain, it’s long-term impact was kept locked up with individual families. We averted our eyes. We considered it “their business.”

We thought family violence happened primarily because someone had a bad temper. Sometimes we thought it was necessary punishment. Today we know differently. Research and careful study show that family violence is serious and ongoing. The question is, what will we Christians do about it?

One of the most helpful concepts from the research is that there is a cycle to violent behavior. Violence doesn’t come out on the blue sky. It is rarely one time happening. Worse yet nothing is done to stop it, violence generally escalates rather than abates.

In the cycles there are three distinct phases. How long each phase lasts may vary greatly. But the pattern itself is unmistakable. Understanding this pattern give us information about when to intervene. It give us hope. We can break the cycle of violence.