This is the final stage of the
Stockholm Syndrome.
Victims have accepted the situation and are not complaining or asking for help. Victims are not motivated to try to get out of the situation. If opportunity arise for escape, victims may have extreme difficulty leaving the abuser. They no longer see a reason to leave. They have taken on the abuser's perspective of the situation. They assumed the abuser's beliefs and values think that there is nothing wrong with what has been happening. If they have been abused, they may think that this was not a bad thing. They do not view the abuser as bad and do not judge the abuser's behaviors as wrong or bad.
When a child is being
sexually abused, he or she may accept the abuse as part of life. The child may have a trauma or
betrayal bond with the
perpetrator and appear to be attached and to have a close relationship with the abuser. The child does not appear to be
angry with the abuser. The child does not
disclose the abuse for
fear of negative consequences to the abuser. Having learned (i.e., self-perception) that she is
helpless to change the situation, the child victim has accepted and adapted to the sexual abuse.
See
Accommodation Syndrome.