why

I wouldn't, but that's me. Abuse is usually cyclical in nature - in many cases, the abuser lashes out because they grew up in an abusive home. The person being abused sometimes grew up in an abusive home - but instead of it making them angry and abusive, it made them more likely to become a victim. In the victim's case, most of the time they believe they deserve the abuse, and the abuser certainly does nothing to dispel that notion, and in most cases the abuser even believes his victim deserves it. It's hard to get yourself out of a situation if you believe you deserve what's happening to you. Easy to rise up against injustice, harder when you think what's happening is justified. For some victims, though, their child is what gets them to turn around. They may not care about themselves anymore, but a lot of victims will do anything to keep their child safe. For other victims, they are so deep into the victim mentality of "I deserve this" that not even the safety of their child can wake them up. It's a sad reality, but unless you've experienced it firsthand, it's difficult for people to comprehend.