At work you are also a slave to your boss, in a sense. If your boss started to abuse you, wouldn't you rather be a home maker so that your partner deals with the day to day shittiness of having to be in a job?
The way to not be afraid of abuse it's to have a support network. For example, extended family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, etc. This applies to you whether you're an employee or a homemaker.
As a human you are always dependant on other people. Part of being a responsible adult is figuring out how to cooperate with people.