Empathy for Abusers

Victims of abuse often display empathy towards their abusers, understanding that the adult's misbehavior stems from their own internal pain. These victims have conflicting emotions, feeling anger towards the abuser but also identifying with the pain that led to the abuse. In Internal Family Systems (IFS) language, both the victim and the abuser have inner wounded parts, with the abuser's rageful part lashing out to mask their pain, while the victim's parts empathize with the adult's hurt inner self despite being mistreated.