Why it always escalates
Escalation of violence is something nobody ever wants. For everyone involved, including the perpetrator, it is a very unfavourable development. That’s why it is unforeseeable until the very last moment for an unschooled onlooker: for sure, he wouldn’t do this, why would someone undermine their own position like that. However, do not mistake violent behaviour for an impulsive outburst. Recent studies show , that agression doesn’t come from poor self-control, it is rather quite deliberate and requires self-discipline and calculation. It is instrumental, even though in the long term, the cost of it is always higher, than the short-term gains. However, the strategy of violence works out, if the other side loses even more, and faster, than the perpetrator. Violence is instrumental. It is the way to make someone do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. So, to predict an escalation you need two factors: first, the victim still has something the abuser needs. Second, last time the abuser ...