However, there were differences when looking at the education level of women. For those whose highest education level was Primary or below, 60% had experienced IPV. For those who had reached secondary school it was around the national average, and for those who completed tertiary education it was 39.7%. This gives a strong indication that completing higher levels of education reduces (but by no means eliminates) the risk a woman will be subject to IPV. Unsurprisingly, this trend is mirrored in the economic status of each household with women living in low income groups more likely than those in high income groups to endure violence in their lifetime (57.6% in low income versus 38.1% in high income). Education also appears to play a part in how likely a man is to use violence in an intimate partner relationship with 54% of those who finished school after primary school being abusers compared to 38.9% of men who finished tertiary education. These statistics must be viewed in context, however. The fact that 4 out of 10 women in high income households or that 4 out of 10 men who finished tertiary education live in violent households is still unacceptably high and no demographic should be overlooked simply because prevalence rates are lower than in other groups. The pattern of abuse in many of the relationships relayed to the Inquiry was one of worsening violence. The severity of the violence in some of the cases was shocking and in many instances it was only fortune that meant the victim was still alive. The following are some of the stories discovered in the inquiry of IPV. Case Study 12: Hope’s* abusive Cabinet Minister husband Hope never thought it would happen to her. She always believed herself to be a strong person with a strong will and someone who always stood up for her rights. She was brought up to believe in herself and was given a voice to express herself. Everything changed when she got married to Ioane, who was a Cabinet Minister at the time. Ioane’s family saw women as subordinates and her voice only now existed behind closed doors, but Hope accepted this although it meant her and Ioane often argued when she tried to tell him how she felt. The abuse started out as verbal and emotional to begin with. “My husband would say ‘Kuu lou amio fa’amaile [ […]] ma lou fiakagaka’. I would feel like I had been kicked in the stomach. Words like these uttered in such a manner and in front of onlookers is humiliating and demoralizing. I understand now that this was his way of feeling empowered.” Hope had come to half expect physical violence from Ioane because of the verbal abuse he gave her. She had also heard that he had been abusive in his first marriage, as had his father before him. However, even though she thought she was prepared she came to realise nothing could prepare her for the violence, which came out of the blue.