The statistics are shocking. One in three women face the threat of domestic abuse. Thirty-seven per cent of emergency hospital visits by women are a result of domestic violence. In the United States, 1500 women are murdered each year by their husbands or boyfriends. This film provides an unflinching look at some of the personal stories that lie behind these statistics. The violence cuts across all lines--racial, educational and financial. We meet working-class women and wealthy women living in million-dollar homes; their vulnerability and their response to their abuse is strikingly similar. Many women are ashamed of the situation and hide it from family members who could be of help. Nor do they think that calling the police is a safe option. Responsibility to their children further complicates their decision to leave. Nancy, like many of the other women, thought it would be easier to stay married and bear the beatings than try to flee and risk being fatally assaulted. Tracy needs a police presence to give her the courage to retrieve her possessions from her former home. Barbara is so frightened it takes three policeman to persuade her it is safer to go to a shelter than remain at home. The film shows that counseling sessions, group therapy, and battered- women groups help these women. Women s shelters can provide temporary safe havens. Court scenes make clear that the legal system can curtail the cycle of violence. The message is that the silence must be broken by the abused women themselves. An important film for sociology, psychology, criminal justice and women s studies.