"He Only Hits Me When He's Drunk"

As I was walking past the police station close to my house, a young lady stopped me and asked for a light. Without looking too much at her, I said "of course" and started looking for a lighter in my purse. I handed her the lighter while zipping my purse and she said "thank you." That's when I finally looked into her eyes and smiled... for a second. She had beautiful eyes, but she had been crying; she had mascara almost down to her chin. And... "My boyfriend just got arrested". I told her I was very sorry to hear that and asked if she was ok and whether she needed any help (not that I could think of much that I'd be able to do). "No, I'm not... he got drunk and beat me". Only then I noticed the bruise under her left eye, pretty well hidden underneath the foundation and the smeared mascara. "Then I'm not sorry that he got arrested, as harsh as this might sound. He doesn't have the right to touch you and... well, I can't tell you what I think, because I don't know you and it's none of my business", I replied in a tone that cannot be captured by these written words. "But he only hits me when he's drunk". I told her that this was no excuse, but didn't allow myself to add anything else. I wished her a better new year and left... that seemed so wrong at the moment, but I didn't know what else to say.
I've heard these words too many times: "He only hits me when he's drunk". HE SHOULD NEVER HIT YOU! There are many beliefs of mine that I'm willing to accept arguments against and even change, but this is surely not one of them. There is no argument to support the cowardice and bestiality of a man who uses his strength to hit a woman and thus prove... what? That he's the head of the household, that the woman has to listen to him and that he does whatever he wants? NO! He's only proving that he's a jerk who doesn't deserve to be called a "man" and who should disappear from your life.
He hits you once, he'll also hit you the second time... and the third... and so on. He only hits you when he's drunk? And he comes home drunk every day, or every two days? That means he hits you all the time. And even if he got drunk once a year and only hit you then, I can still find no excuse for such behaviour... which will not stop, in most cases, despite all the promisses uttered in the few moments he spends awake, when he realizes he might lose you.