Men would deal with this situation themselves, and if a husband was abusing his family, they would get involved and stop it. If needed, the abuser would be challenged with duel and possibly killed.
For the last 30 years in America, reports of abuse have been respected by the police and they do get involved when notified.
That depends on where you live, many places were very slow to get with that program. In my area it is still not adressed as seriously as it is in most places.