The literature review provides a brief background of the problem, while the remainder of the presentation deals with violence patterns in terms of the development of violence orientations, duration and timing of violence, sustaining of violence, terminating it, and building a nonviolent lifestyle. Discernible patterns, process, and structural considerations are emphasized throughout, as cases are used to illustrate the principles involved. A sample of 58 respondents in the survey was derived from a nonrandom total coverage of a public housing area with 169 apartment units. Respondents were limited to those who had separation or divorce experiences. Thirty-four percent of the sample had experienced some violence in their marital relationships. A 20-item focused-interview schedule was used to elicit information on personal history, the effects of selected aspects of change on separation or divorce, and items dealing with the natural history and development of violence, if this was present in the relationship. From the data generated, marital violence seems deeply rooted in North American cultures. A society that would minimize intrafamily violence would exhibit (1) full employment regardless of sex, for all whose economic and personal needs dictate a job or career; (2) a nonsexist ethic that does not make 'natural' enemies of women and men in their relationships; (3) a style of child rearing that would allow males to learn about empathy and expression of feelings in a threat-free setting and that would teach women to be more self-sufficient and less subordinate to males; and (4) a cultural ethos which would emphasize cooperation and peace instead of competition and war. Realizing that such cultural changes will be slow in coming, if ever, services for abused women should be developed in the mean time. They should provide emergency protection as well as economic and medical services. Sixteen references are listed.