Roanoke Police Department
Phases of Violent Behavior
Battering usually does not occur randomly. Victims in battering relationships may notice the violence follows a pattern. This pattern or cycle generally consists of three phases:
Phase one: Tension Building Phase:
- The victim notices the batterer becoming more and more edgy, frustrated and angry.
- The batterer may become jealous and possessive in fear the victim will leave.
- The victim may feel responsible for the batterer's anger and try to calm the person down.
- The victim may give the batterer special attention, do everthing the batterer asks or stay out of the person's way to avoid a beating.
Phase two: Battering Phase:
- This phase begins when the tension reaches a peak. The batterer loses control of his feelings of anger and physically attacks the victim.
- The batterer may push, shove, slap, hit, pin down, rape, knife, strangle or shoot the victim.
- Only the batterer can end this phase by stopping the violence.
- Once the batterer stops the violence, the victim should find a safe place to hide. The victim can choose to stay with a friend, relative or at a shelter.
Phase three: Honeymoon Phase:
- At this point, the batterer is even more afraid the victim will leave and becomes very kind and loving.
- The batterer promises never to harm the victim again.
- The victim believes the batterer and is convinced the loving behavior will continue, making it very hard to leave the person during this phase.
As the cycle of violent behavior repeats itself, the battering is likely to be more violent than the last time. Usually, the honeymoon phase becomes shorter and shorter or drops out altogether. It is helpful for victims to be aware of these phases to avoid the battering incident by leaving before it happens. However, some victims never have a honeymoon period.
For more information, contact the Roanoke Police Domestic Violence Specialist at (540) 853-6889.
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