INTERVIEWS WITH BATTERED WIVES, AS WELL AS WITH SEVERAL HUSBANDS AND CHILDREN, DEMONSTRATE THE BRUTALITY OF THE BEATINGS, THE MOTIVES OF THE HUSBANDS (EXCESSIVE DRINKING, IRRITATION WITH WORK OR OTHER OUTSIDE FACTORS, AND ASSERTION OF 'MALE PREROGATIVES'), AND THE LACK OF ALTERNATIVES FOR WOMEN WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE NO FINANCIAL MEANS. HOW GREAT THE NEED FOR WOMEN'S SHELTERS IS, HOW WOMEN CAN ENTER THE HOUSES UPON REQUEST, THE FEELINGS OF WOMEN WHO HAVE MANAGED TO ESCAPE FROM EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT MARRIAGES, AND THE ORGANIZATION AS WELL AS THE DAY-BY-DAY OPERATION AND THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN SHELTER HOUSING ARE ILLUSTRATED BY INTERVIEWS WITH THE FOUNDERS AND INHABITANTS OF SHELTERS IN ENGLAND, HOLLAND, AND AUSTRALIA. AUTONOMOUS EFFORTS BY WEST GERMAN FEMINIST GROUPS TO PLAN, ORGANIZE AND FUND SUCH ESTABLISHMENTS IN BERLIN AND COLOGNE ARE ALSO DOCUMENTED. A NUMBER OF STUDIES, ESPECIALLY BY AMERICAN AUTHORS, INDICATE THAT BATTERED WIVES COME FROM ALL CLASSES AND POSSESS VARYING LEVELS OF EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE, BUT THAT A MAJORITY OF ABUSING HUSBANDS WERE ABUSED THEMSELVES AS CHILDREN AND THAT MOST BATTERED WIVES ENTER THE SHELTER WITH CHILDREN BUT WITHOUT FINANCIAL MEANS. ALTHOUGH SEXUAL ACTIVITY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A BASIC ELEMENT OF ABUSE IN MOST CASES, SEXUAL INEQUALITY AND CULTURAL NORMS WHICH PLACE WOMEN IN A SUBSERVIENT ROLE ARE CLEARLY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. OVER THE LAST CENTURY, GERMAN FAMILY LAW HAS DEFINTELY FAVORED ECONOMIC DOMINANCE OF MALES, LEAVING REPRODUCTION, CHILD-REARING, AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT TO WOMEN. VIEWED FROM BOTH A HISTORICAL AND A SOCIOLOGICAL STANDPOINT, ABUSE OF WOMEN HAS BEEN BASED ON THE CONVICTION EXPRESSED IN PARTRIARCHAL SOCIETIES THAT WOMEN ARE INTRINSICALLY INFERIOR TO MEN, MASOCHISTIC, AND GENERALLY IN NEED OF CONTROL; IT IS CONCLUDED THAT MISTREATMENT OF WOMEN IS ESSENTIALLY A POLITICAL CRIME. SEPARATE BIBLIOGRAPHIES ARE SUPPLIED FOR EACH ARTICLE. --IN GERMAN (KMD)