there is hardly ever an easy answer to violence and your situation is at once hard and endearing to those of us who have been there...i too was once the party being beat upon and as it's been said couldn't tell you exactly why i stayed..i can tell why i left was because i truly felt that if i stayed even one moment longer that i would die it took along time to realize that if i "made him hit me" that i could make him not when i did i realized that anyone who truly loved me would never ever hurt me in such a profound and damaging way like the others i encourage you to just be there for her as it is the one thing that she may have to cling to in the way of hope...your steadiness and friendship will be in much use when she does finally leave and these are the most valuable things in life ...one or two true friends and their ability to be there when you need them the most strangly enough it was a total stranger who helped to get me out of my situation but it was my friends who helped me to do the healing ...
good luck and stay the course and of course Soft Thoughts boilergirl

__________________
~There is nothing you can do, that can't be done~

"ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE"