Why do victims of domestic violence stay?

For people who are not abused it may be hard to understand why anyone would stay in a violent relationship. It is not true that if a person stays in an abusive relationship he/she is weak or needy. There is more to this than simply staying or leaving. A woman may fear that the abuser will hurt her children. She may also fear that her children will be taken away. Limited resources may be a problem. He/she may blame themselves. He/she may not want to break up the family. Maybe he/she is staying for religious reasons. He/she may love their abuser. He/she may hope things get better. Some abusers threaten self-harm or suicide.