why do we put up with it?

I was watching a show about a battered woman the other day, it was pretty bad. i just kept asking myself why do women put up with this kind of treatment? we deserve better. we are strong beautiful smart independent women and we still for some reason put up with crap from men. is it because we don't want to be alone? are we afraid that we will never find anybody better? perhaps we often choose the devil we know instead of the devil we don't know? I will never understand what makes us put up with this type of treatment. I know it is not fun being alone it can be very hard at times especially as we get older but I have decided that being alone is better than being abused.