The continuum is an expansion on the cycle of violence, which, although it was groundbreaking in its time, is too simplistic. It's a way to identify abusive behaviors so that you can count their frequency, and identify the relative dangerousness of such behaviors so you can identify escalation. Otherwise, there is no way to quantify and qualify the behavior.
She said she had changed it. That's good. This whole field is a work in progress, but not happening fast enough. People might not like what she is doing with JA, but her work in general is spot on and very desperately needed. Trying to minimize and ridicule her work is not helping anyone.
"One out of every three women will be abused at some point in her life.
Battering is the
single major cause of injury to women,
exceeding rapes, muggings and auto accidents
combined.
A woman is more likely to be killed by a male partner (or former partner) than any other person.
About 4,000 women die each year due to domestic violence.
Of the total domestic violence homicides, about 75% of the victims were killed as they attempted to leave the relationship or after the relationship had ended.
Seventy-three percent of male abusers were abused as children.
Thirty percent of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband in the past year.
Women of all races are equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.
On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or partners in this country every day.
Intimate partner violence a crime that largely affects women. In 1999, women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence.
On average, a woman will leave an abusive relationship seven times before she leaves for good.
Approximately 75% of women who are killed by their batterers are murdered when they attempt to leave or after they have left an abusive relationship."
http://www.domesticabuseshelter.org/InfoDomesticViolence.htm