Family Violence

Dr. Lenore Walker developed the cycle of violence theory in 1979. She studied violence in the home and came to the conclusion that physical violence is unlikely to be a one-off episode. It is more often a constant presence in the home.

She based the cycle on the similarities in peoples’ stories of violence and broke it into three phases.

It starts with tension building. The home becomes tense; people get sensitive and argumentative. Others may attempt to reason and calm them. During this phase, people may antagonise each other.

Sometimes the waiting is worse than the violence.