Healthy view of friendship as a safeguard against abuse

I'm excited to be part of the launch team for Aimee Byrd's new book Why Can't We Be Friends?. The topic of biblical friendship brings forth strong opinions among Christians. Some say men and women cannot be friends because of the temptation to sin which affects our witness to the world. Others say we can and should be friends for the good of the body of Christ and our witness to the world. I am of the latter persuasion. 

In many Christian circles for the sake of purity, cross-gender relationships are discouraged among teens because one needs to save one's self for a future spouse, not just physically but emotionally too. I get that this is a reaction to "casual" dating and to avoid immorality. Some avoid cross-gender friendships even after marriage. But this can set up marriage as the be all and in end all. It can also set up one's spouse as the sole fulfillment of every need - physical, emotional, and spiritual. (pg. 24)

I'm still processing this train of thought, but I wonder how much does an unhealthy view of cross-gender friendships set up people for abusive relationships? 

If your spouse is supposed to be your be all and end all, an abuser would readily agree because that is what abuse demands from a victim. In this paradigm, the abuser would feel it is his/her due, and the victim would feel it is his/her duty. But this is impossible. We were never meant to meet all the needs of another human being. Only God can do that. Even if the dynamic is not abusive, this can still create stress and tension because, again, only God has this capacity. 

Is it possible that - 

"Despite the many voices in the evangelical subculture that have told us differently, we’ve come to learn that our godly friendships outside our marriage are not a threat but actually benefit the unique, exclusive communion that we have as husband and wife." (pg. 30)

I think Aimee is right on this one. A healthy view of friendship can promote healthy marriages and, I would add, be a potential safeguard against abuse.

The next logical question then is, can healthy cross-gender relationships help abuse victims in the healing process? Maybe more thoughts later since I need to get back to work...