In the Female Victim and Male Abuser example, which statement describes Phase 2?

• A. There is a breakdown of communication.
• B. The batterer apologizes and makes promises.
• C. Uncontrollable discharge of tension; violence occurs no matter what the victim does.
• D. The couple plans to separate peacefully.

Answer: (C)

Phase 2 is the acute battering incident in the cycle of violence: the built-up tension erupts into violence, and it happens no matter what the victim does. This explains why the statement about an uncontrollable discharge of tension fits Phase 2 best—the violence is immediate, explosive, and not easily influenced by the victim’s actions.

The other descriptions belong to different parts of the cycle: a breakdown of communication fits the tension-building phase (Phase 1), and the batterer apologizing and promising to change is characteristic of the honeymoon or reconciliation phase (Phase 3). Planning to separate fits more with a resolution phase and isn’t the defining feature of Phase 2.