There are not two sides. Abuse is not a conflict. It is not a fight. . . .
When a child is molested or abused, there are not two sides. Similarly, when an adult is verbally abused and threatened, there are not two sides. One person is not attacking and the other counterattacking. On the contrary, one is trying to understand and not upset the other, whose behavior is directed toward maintaining control and dominance with overt or covert attacks.
— Patricia Evans, Verbal Abuse Survivors Speak Out, p. 98