“Every three minutes a woman is raped! Every fifteen seconds a woman is battered! Every six hours a woman is battered to death!” (Mckenzie, Cover) Research indicates that half the women in this country will experience some sort of violence, from a husband or boyfriend, in one form or another and more than one-third are battered repeatedly every year. (Wilson, pg. 8) Domestic violence is often dismissed as a problem that affects only a small group of women, however, as the facts show, the problem is not rare.
             The term “wife abuse” has many definitions: One of these is the use or threat of physical violence against a partner in a primary relationship. Physical violence is defined as an act that has the potential for physical injury to occur. According to this definition the abused person does not have to be married to the abuser to qualify as an abused victim.
             In most states, if a woman does not want to press charges against her husband/boyfriend, the case is dropped. Often a woman will not press charges because she is scared of further abuse and/or economic deprivation for her and her children. (Felder, Victor, pg.20) Wife abuse is not a “private matter”. Its presence undermines society. Furthermore in cases where children are witnessing the abuse, the effects on the children is horrible. Studies show that children who witness wife-abuse are at greater risk for being abused or becoming abusers themselves. “Violence begets Violence” (Straus, Gelles, Steinmetz, pg.97-101) The Attorney General should prosecute wife-abuse cases with or without the consent of the victim.
             Throughout history men have been held responsible for their women and children. With that responsibility, men were given power; That is, men historically have had the power to use force to control the behavior of their dependents and were expected to use so-called reasonable force in the exercise of their responsibilities....