Despite physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse from their partner, many women remain in an abusive relationship, often proclaiming to love the one who is hurting them. Nineteen females who had experienced intimate partner violence were interviewed and asked to share their experiences and describe their meaning of love. An analysis of the transcripts was done using qualitative content analysis. With this approach, the contents of the verbal data were summarized and arranged in three major categories: (1) What love is not; (2) Attributes of a loving relationship; and (3) Attachment to the relationship. The findings demonstrate a woman's clear recognition of being in an abusive relationship, yearning to be truly loved, but often finding herself unable to detach from the relationship.

After identifying that social scientists and historians have long believed (and vigorously defended) that the only universal trait found in every known culture is the prohibition against incest, occurrence of incest and child sexual abuse is traced first through Western culture from antiquity to the present with special emphasis on Sigmund Freud's "reversal." It then is traced through Eastern culture from ancient to modern times. Contemporary trends of self-disclosure of incest and child sexual abuse are examined, and current incidence data are provided. The backlash phenomenon is then explored, and conclusions are drawn.