WHAT IS IT ABOUT WOMEN AND ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS?

I am very angry as I type this story; what is it about women and abusive relationship I ask again?
I was in Ogba(Ogba is somewhere in Ikeja) the other day to see a friend; I was in Folorunsho Street to be precise.  At a point we decided to sit outside. We sat in an open shop where a woman sells recharge cards. It wasn’t up to 30 minutes after we sat there that a scene developed.
We saw a guy running after a lady; he caught up with the lady not too far away from where we sat. The guy slapped, kicked, and shoved the lady right there on the street. These are not teenagers; they are adults.

Onlookers were unanimous in their reactions. “You will kill her o”, “stop beating a woman like that; what did she do?” they shouted.
It took the intervention of a passerby to stop the beating. The passerby rushed to where they were, held the guy and dragged him away from the lady. The lady at this point was wailing uncontrollably.
I noticed my friend was quiet throughout the whole drama. “Why are you quiet?” I asked. “Don’t mind that girl; she no dey hear word; she is always beaten by that guy. I mean always!   The worst part is that after receiving thorough beating, you would think that would be the end of their relationship; for where? Just give her two to three days, she will come again and spend days in his house. If she spends up to three days in the guy’s house, there’s no way that guy will not beat her within those three days.  It is a routine for them. Everybody on this street knows them. Some have advised her to leave the guy, others have caution the guy to desist from laying his hands on the girl. None of them seems to listen to anybody. So leave those two alone; I just pray Oscar Pistorius kind of incident doesn’t happen.”
Back to my question again; what is in abusive relationships that women love? Is that they hope that their abusive men will change one day? Is it a fear of losing the man you ‘managed’ to get? Is it that they see abuse as an expression of love from their guys?
We will love to hear from you. Your comment might save a life today.