WALKER LEONOR, 'La Teoría del ciclo de la violencia', 1979
Cycle of domestic violence
In the majority of cases violence is not present at the start of the relationship, but soon there will be cycles of aggression and cycles of caring behaviour.
The cycle of violence consists of three phases which can vary in intensity and duration.
During the first phase there is an accumulation of tension and small minor incidents will provoke rising tension between the couple.
In the second phase or chronic phase the tension has now reached a stage where there will be an explosion of violence which will vary in degrees of seriousness.
After this comes the honeymoon phase. During this time the aggressor appears to be very repentant, asks for forgiveness and is very loving, promising it will never happen again.
In a short time the tension will begin to accumulate again, and the cycles repeat, and the violence and abuse will become more and more frequent and intense, with an increasing possibility of serious danger to the woman.
