I'm a man and I'm canadian so my views may be a little out of line with those of my cousins accross the pond, but my Nan was a strong British woman, a midwife/nurse, that instilled much of her native charm and beliefs in me from an early age. "With a male being stabbed by a woman, it is kind of expected that he will just 'get over it', while if a woman was stabbed by a man I would start imagining that this would be a possible start of a longer term abuse." I used to agree 100% with the above statement. I led a very laid back and non-violent life, especially towards women. I was raised to never hit a woman no matter what. I now beileve that any abuse by either partner can start a pattern of abuse. I was in a terribly abusive relationship for almost 3 years. Now, almost 8 years later, I'm still trying to cope with the emotional and psychological aftermath. It doesn't matter who starts it, how long it goes on for, or what the trigger is. Abuse is abuse, and it has wide ranging repercussions that continue far after the parties seperate. Love the blog, Keep up the good work, Cheers. ChazB Canada