Battering Battering is defined for us as "repeated and targeted abuse designed to instill fear and used as a means of control." This abuse may be either physical, mental/emotional, sexual, or even societal. The dynamics in any case remain the same. It is the batterer's need to control the victim. This control is maintained either by actual physical force or by the fear experienced when the previous instances of violence are remembered, or are threatened again. The most vulnerable areas are targeted, whether they be physical areas of the body or a particularly susceptible areas of the emotions. Some of the reasons violence is so prevalent is because it is extremely effective as a means of establishing control. Fear diminishes a victim, and when appeasement or subjection seems easier than terror or pain, then the choice to be made is obvious. Battering is sometimes blatant, but very often, so subtle that it may not even be apparent unless there is a lot of awareness. A victim may be battered by a person in a spousal relationship, by an employer, by a spouse or roommate, by a person in the role of a friend, advisor, or relative. It may also be part of the dynamics of a business relationship in a social institution. "The solution is ultimately the same in all of these situations. The targeted person (victim) must either leave the relationship/situation, or be able to change it so that the element of fear is no longer persuasive and control ceases to exist." I think it explains what happens when people cross the line - invade a person's boundaries. author unknown