*Myth
Only a small number of women are battered or abused in their own homes.

REALITY
Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of intimate partner violence per year to three million.

*Myth
Couples commonly argue.

REALITY
Many battered women experience violence which includes rape, having their hair pulled out, being punched or hit in the face and body, choking/strangulation, and death. 

*Myth
She must enjoy it, or she would leave.
REALITY
There are multiple factors which prevent people from leaving an abusive relationship.  These include little financial ability to leave, especially if batterer controls household funds.  Other reasons might be dependence, religious or cultural values.
Some women might not have anywhere to go.  Family members might not support separation and the prospect of poor housing in another city might be an additional reason for a person to remain in an abusive relationship.
Many women who find themselves in a violent relationship are discouraged from taking action to protect themselves and/or their children. The violence they are experiencing is often compounded by feelings of shame, guilt, fear and embarrassment, and they can also be subjected to social criticism and exclusion.

*Myth
Domestic Violence includes physical violence only.
REALITY
Domestic Violence includes physical, emotional, mental and financial abuse.  The abuse is an attempt to control the other person; therefore all means of control are used.

*Myth
Leaving the home is bad for the children.

REALITY
Many women only leave their home when they realize the effects of the violence on their children or when the children themselves are threatened. 
If a child witnesses violence or experiences it in his or her family growing up, he or she is more likely to perpetrate or become a victim of it as an adult. Women who witness domestic violence as children may be at higher risk for victimization in their own relationships.

*Myth
Nobody has the right to interfere in the domestic affairs of a man and a woman.

REALITY
Domestic Violence is a public health problem, and the consequences are severe:
·  Chronic health conditions: Research shows a correlations between domestic violence and health conditions such as arthritis, chronic neck, back and pelvic pain, migraine headaches and stomach ulcers.
· Broken families, and the emotional devastation that occurs, both for adults and children.
· Increased health care expenditures: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the health-related costs of rape, physical assault, stalking, and homicide by intimate partners exceed $5.8 billion each year.

*Myth
Alcohol causes battering.

REALITY
Alcohol does not and cannot make a man abuse a woman, but it is frequently used as an excuse. Many men drink and do not abuse anyone as a result, and many men abuse women when they are sober.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the common element in every incident of intimate partner violence is the abuser’s need for power and control in the relationship.