The beating is the obvious part. The emotional manipulation is what keeps them there, as well as financial dependence. The affection and gifts and apologies, the neediness that is genuine. And leaving does have it's dangers, women are often killed after escaping. In the US, it's usually not a matter of the abused pressing charges, it's a crime, and the state makes the charge. Asking someone so beleaguered to suddenly take all the responsibility on is useless, they have had their will beaten out of them. Stockholm Syndrome could as easily be called Beaten Wife Syndrome. It creeps up on even strong women, warping reality. For a weak woman with few resources, which is part of the attraction for manipulative men, it's a deep, deep trap.