If a child is witnessing the abuse of the mother then it is 
considered child abuse as well. It is very common that a father who 
abuses a spouse also abuses the child/ren. I work in this field and 
the father needs anger/management therapy. I agree with Ken that if 
Catholic the priest might help or any other clergy from a mainstream 
religion. JW's, Mormons and other cult like groups are usually not 
good at handling these problems.
We recently settled the Spokane Diocese case on behalf of 70 victims. 
The Catholics are making strides other churches are not making. In 
this case they are required to apologize to the victims and to no 
longer refer to them as alleged victims.

At 07:50 AM 2/27/2006, you wrote:
>it is definatly abuse. you need to get the woman and
>child some help. i wish i could say that a prist would
>be the way to go, but, i know from experience that
>some religous leaders will not step up and do the
>right thing, many times they take the "see no evil..."
>approach. if the priest does not get her some help,
>then you go somewhere else to get it.
>
>--- Kathleen Salkin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Mag's right, I'd see this as spousal abuse, not as a
> > guy that has got
> > problems with his wife's disability.  I think you
> > ought to talk to
> > their priest and see what he says.  If not their
> > parish priest, then
> > another priest.  Unless he is very conservative on
> > such matters, the
> > priest should be willing to talk them about this
> > situation.
> >
> > Maybe the husband has a drinking problem, or even
> > worse, a meth habit
> > (all too common these days, I fear).  Thus, it's
> > imperative that an
> > experienced person get in there and evaluate the
> > situation.  Think in
> > terms of saving that lovely child from harm as well
> > as her mother.
> >
> > I think the clergy has a moral, if not legal
> > responsibility to report
> > it to the authorities if he sees that this is a
> > dangerous situation
> > for the woman and her child.  But something does
> > need to be done.
> > Too many women die or become severely disabled at
> > the hands of
> > abusive men.
> >
> >
> > Kat
> >
> > On 27 Feb 2006, at 02:34, Magenta Raine wrote:
> > >
> > > There are many resources for able bodied
> > marriages,  you can look on
> > > Amazon.com for ideas for books. Contact Easter
> > seals, sometimes
> > > they have
> > > support groups for married folks with
> > disabilities. also look for
> > > books
> > > that help women have better self esteem.
> >
>
>
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