3 Ways Healthy Womanhood Helps Victims Of Emotional Abuse

Too many men are victimizing women through emotional abuse, betrayal, and sexual coercion.

How can victims rise above abuse and oppression, both in their homes and in their society?

Tracy joins Anne Blythe on the free BTR podcast to empower victims to embrace healthy womanhood. Tune in to the podcast and read the full transcript below for more.

Healthy Womanhood Rejects "Bypass"

Spiritual Bypass and New Age Bypass are two dangerous means to push women toward forgiving, enabling, and ultimately accepting abuse. When women are counseled to "bypass" the effects of trauma, they are harmed and the abuse is severely minimized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIUipbL5Eys

When victims embrace healthy womanhood, they are able to reject bypass and instead process their emotions and experiences in appropriate ways that lead to healing.

Healthy Womanhood Means Being True To Yourself

Abusive men condition women to isolate themselves, ignore their own safety needs, and bury their values deep within themselves.

Tragically, many faith-communities glorify women who submit to the conditioning of their abusive partners. In some cultures this includes:

* Having sexual contact with their partner when they don't feel safe.* Ignoring self-care needs (known as being "selfless" in faith communities) to put their abusive partner's desires first.* Adopting their partner's political, religious, and societal viewpoints while ignoring their own.* Staying in an abusive relationship to avoid divorce.* Not receiving an education or working outside the home because their partner is coercing or manipulating them (many women do choose to stay home with their children because they want to and BTR supports this decision)

When women choose safety ahead of their abusive relationship and the harmful expectations from faith-communities or others, they are embracing healthy womanhood and can begin their journey to healing.

Education & Empowerment Fuel Healthy Womanhood

Abusers and their enablers covertly (or overtly) influence women to avoid education and empowerment.

This may mean that abusers:

* Discourage a woman's higher education* Discourage a woman's career ambitions* Push the idea that women in the workplace is dangerous* Discourage women from seeking support * Discourage women from trying new hobbies

Abusers may literally force women to stay in the home, but with hidden abuse, women are usually oppressed through more covert means. Men may sulk, coerce, threaten, or withhold to control women and prevent them from being empowered through education.

If you are an abusive or unfaithful man, seek help through an abuse cessation program today.

How Can Victims Become Empowered Today?