It looks at the quality of evidence which the experts offer in support of their theories and suggests an alternative vocabulary for assessing the motives of battered women. The study concludes that once a woman admits that she is a victim of wife assault, her competence is called into question if she does not leave. She is defined as a type of person who requires assistance, a person who is unable to manage her own affairs. As a result, the experts on battered women have constructed a situation where victims of wife assault may lose control over their self-definitions, interpretations of experience, and in some cases, control over their private affairs. Fifteen notes and about 110 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)