Subconsciously her brain realizes the alarm buzzing and she slowly wakes up, breathing carefully so as not to jar her painfully tender ribs. Systematically she moves each part of her body, just inches, to determine her injuries. Discovering that she can stand, her feet shuffle over to her bedroom mirror where, as she sees her reflection, a pink-painted fingernail shields a badly cut lip. She tells herself that he didn't mean it, that he was just frustrated and she walked in at the wrong time . . . but that thought doesn't help her now as she begins to dab rubbing alcohol on her stale cut.

This fictional woman could have just become another statistic in a country that is full of them. Recently though, I have been introduced to some of the ones she could claim. Here are just a few:

-- In America, a woman is beaten every 15 seconds.

-- One out of eight high school students and one out of five college students will be involved in at least one violent relationship before they graduate.

-- According to United States Attorney General William French Smith, battering is the single major cause of injury to women, exceeding rapes, muggings, and even auto accidents.

One year ago I would have read these statistics without recognizing their significance. Now after watching a friend of mine deal with the emotional and legal aftermath of an abusive relationship, they mean much, much more.

Today, society is showered with information about rape from all media outlets and fortunately, more women know where to turn for help because of it than just a few years ago. And that's good. But the concentration of rape awareness molded people into thinking that rape is the only dangerous problem women face and that simply is not true.

Like rape, date battering is about control. Due to the sheer differences in physical characteristics, an extraordinarily high percentage of batterers are men. Some men abuse women because they believe the man is traditionally supposed to have power in a relationship. Some men have learned that by abusing or threatening they can get their way. Still others sadly learn by the example in their own homes by the actions of their fathers.

The abuse does not have to be only physical, either. Many abusers control who their partners see or forbid them to receive medical attention. Both of these constitute abuse. Even driving a car recklessly fast with the intent of scaring the woman has been called abuse.

The hard fact for people to swallow is that date battering does happen -- the numbers are proof. But the sad part is that many women will make excuses for their partner's behavior or try to convince themselves that it is not as bad as it seems. But abuse does not have to have a black and blue label to verify its existence.

A woman may be battered if any of the following are true: she is frightened by or makes decisions based on the temper of her partner; finds herself apologizing for her partner's behavior; or has actually been physically injured by him. And if this woman had physical or emotional abuse carried out in her own family life, it makes her all the more prone to thinking this is the way relationships are supposed to be.

My friend who was involved in an abusive relationship learned all these things first-hand -- but it took her a while. Like most victims, she was able to see much clearer after she was out of the relationship.

She said now she can see that the abuse started only five months into the relationship. The emotional abuse started first, with her boyfriend telling her that she would never find anyone better to date and demanding to know where she was at all times -- and when she wouldn't succumb to that, the physical abuse began.

He would punch her in the legs, back, or chest and refuse to believe her when she said it hurt. It was when she was forced to go to the doctor because of what he had done that she decided to press charges.

At the doctor's office she signed a form saying she had been the victim of physical abuse. She did not have to say by who, where, or when -- just that it happened. This went to police services.

Next, she contacted the victim/witness advocate in 12 Grange Building. My friend said she would not have known what to do if it hadn't been for this service.

Then the legal process began to kick in with a hearing before the Office of Conduct Standards, criminal charges in Centre County court, jury selections and court dates.

If you are involved in a relationship that may be abusive, please talk to someone you trust to determine if you have reason to worry (if the thought even crosses your mind, you probably do). If you are, and you decide to handle it like my friend, it won't be easy but you will have the satisfaction of knowing you're doing the right thing by protecting the women that come after you.

My friend will not gain anything financially out of her court cases, no matter how they turn out, but she will be telling her former boyfriend that women can not be treated this way. And she will be doing everything she can to kill that first aforementioned statistic, so that hopefully the eight women that were beaten in the time it took you to read this column will be the last.