Violence against women--the myth of masochism

Women have been victims of violence throughout history. Freud's theory of masochism stated that women enjoyed suffering, and until very recently the mental health profession went along with this universal human tendency to blame the victim. In this paper a new understanding of the dynamics of abused wives and violence-prone husbands is being presented indicating that the explanation lies in the new field of the study of psychological reactions of victims of violence and catastrophe.