How does one become victim of one's own Karma? I understand Karma as describing habitual mind patterns which cause one to behave impulsively according to certain mental predispositions conditioned by previous actions and intentions.

My question is how does Karma work in situations of violence/abuse. I understand how a perpetrator of violence or abuser is more likely to commit violence or abuse towards another person later in this life or in the next life.  However, I do not understand how the abuser would through this violent behavior be more vulnerable to become a victim of this type of violence.

In short, how does the Karma (habit energy) one builds up as a perpetrator cause one to fall on the other side of the equation (to become a victim)?
Karma is facilitated by emptiness. Because we are empty of essence, each choice and action you make leaves an imprint on your mind that, like all things, decays over time. So, if you make a negative action, you leave a negative imprint on your mind. Now, since we are empty of essence, you are more likely to perform actions with similar characteristics to the ones you have performed before. The more negative actions you choose to make, the more negative and troubled you become. This is why mindfulness and all the right stuff (view, speech, etc) is crucial. You have no nature other than what you choose and what you surround yourself with. If you let all that negativity build up by not being mindful of your actions and choosing rightly, you're going to have a lot of work to do towards purification.

Now, how does that relate to others in the way you're asking? Well it turns out that everything is empty of essence. Therefore beyond your mind, you leave an imprint on the world with similar characteristics as your actions, thus encouraging others to act in a similar way. And since you're inseparable from this gloriously intertwined existence, you are likely to reap what you've sewn.