I know I'm going to ruffle some people's feathers by saying this, but a lot of women (not
all women) have really horrible judgment when it comes to sizing up a guy. My mom has dated more abusive men than I'd care to think about, and I could tell right off the bat without even talking that much to each guy that he was a complete ass-wipe. I knew each time that my mom was going to get hurt, and I'd even tell her, but I have no idea what went through her mind each time. I know there's plenty of guys out there who would *never* hit a girl for no reason. I can only see myself hitting a girl if she kneed me really hard in the groin or whacked me so hard that I started to bleed or bruise badly--and I would never strike the first blow. But this is something that (some) women need to face up to: either learn to excert better judment, or learn how to say "no", whatever the case may be. For women who don't know how to say no to a guy who's really persistent, there is help. You can seek out assertive therapy or try reading
When I Say No, I Feel Guilty.