As more and more battered women came into the emergency room by ambulance, car or on foot, I saw the magnitude of a problem no one wanted to address. I witnessed and treated abused women from all backgrounds and saw the devastating effects of mental and physical violence it had on them. I began to speak to some of the women who would talk. Others were too afraid or hurt. I wanted to learn about it, to understand and to help. There was a common thread regardless of where they came from: they loved their abusers, they had children and blamed themselves and they were cut off from family, friends and money.