The current pop psychology about cults is drawing a very strong parallel between cult victims and "battered woman syndrome".
1. The woman believes that the violence was her fault.
2. The woman has an inability to place the responsibility for the violence elsewhere.
3. The woman fears for her life and/or her children's lives.
4. The woman has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.
I myself have noticed certain abusive patterns in my relationships with my JW relatives. A lot of it comes from my dad and now when I think about it, I think of it as manipulative, "jedi mind tricks" he tries to play on me.
Has anyone else noticed manipulative and/or downright abusive undercurrents among JWs? I'm not trying to make reference to victims of sexual abuse, per se, just abusive and/or manipulative patterns in general.