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	Vol.7, No 26, October 13, 1999
	Anger helps fight abuse, analyst says  By Rebecca Brown Daily Forty-Niner Get angry with domestic abusers, and donít just get depressed, said psychoanalyst Alyce LaViolette to an audience of 38 Cal State Long Beach students and faculty Monday night. "Anger psychologically peaks," LaViolette said. "If you get depressed, you wonít take action like you would if you were angry." LaViolette was invited to speak about domestic violence by the CSULB Women's Resource Center as part of domestic violence awareness month. During the lecture, "Anger, Power, and Intimate Relationships," LaViolette discussed why women stay in abusive relationships. She is the co-author of a book about domestic violence titled "It Could Happen to Anyone: Why Battered Women Stay." LaViolette has worked in the Long Beach area with batterers and their victims, said Lynne Coenen, assistant director of the Womenís Resource Center.  Women are abused five times more often than men are, LaViolette said, which is why women were the primary focus of the lecture.  "This includes aggression, such as being slapped, kicked or shoved," she said. "A lot of people say that they have been aggressive towards a loved one -- that doesn't mean that they are batterers," she said. "Most people are not."  LaViolette went on to say that domestic abuse is blown out of proportion by the media, and that many abusers make threats, but may never act on them.  "If you read the paper, you get pumped up to believe that this goes on a lot," she said. "It doesn't." Many women get involved in abusive relationships without knowing what they are getting into, LaViolette said. "A lot of us could throw things, but it can be scary if we throw things a lot," said LaViolette, adding that one of her clients once smashed $25,000 worth of crystal in a fit of rage.  LaViolette also said that many people have the misconception that there is a pattern in abuse.  "There are times when some abusers go from tension, to incident, to remorse. But that is not always the case," she said. Fifty percent of male abusers are called family-only batterers, she said.  "They have a more positive attitude toward women, but they have impulsive outbursts," LaViolette said. She gave an example of this type of abuser, citing the case of a previous patient she had.  "He hit his wife and knocked her eye out of its socket," she said. His wife backed him up when he said that he had never hurt her before, said LaViolette. "Even with no history, they can still hurt a woman severely with an act of violence," she said.		Adams provides patches for life's tough problems   6 CSULB students awarded   Anger helps fight abuse, analyst says   Driving class teaches students rules of road States need help   Atheism not new   Rules for vendors Adams provides patches for life's tough problems   49ers fifth at tourney Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.