Battered woman syndrome (BWS), first proposed in the 1970s after research demonstrated the psychological impact from domestic violence on the victim, has undergone further clarification since its inception. This research paper reviews the historical issues concerning domestic violence and its victims in the criminal justice system (including the criminal and family courts), describes psychological theories
The most common form of syndrome testimony that has been introduced in the courtroom is battered woman syndrome testimony. For the most part, this testimony has been offered in homicide trials of battered women who have killed their abusers. Most often, the expert witness, typically a clinical psychologist, offers the testimony on behalf of the
The lens through which a society views itself plays a critical role in how it identifies, measures, and interprets a social problem, the mechanisms used to disseminate the findings, and the types of programs developed to address the problem. Acceptance of the status quo is jarred when isolated facts that are incongruent with a common
Battered woman syndrome (BWS) is a term that was first used in the mid-1970s to describe the psychological effects that happened to women who were physically and sexually abused and psychologically maltreated by an intimate partner (Walker 1979). The definition of BWS, like those of most terms used in the field of domestic violence, often
‘‘Battered woman syndrome’’ (BWS) is a descriptive term that refers to a pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in abusive relationships. Battered women sometimes use physical force to kill their batterers. These women may be charged with a criminal offense. When women are charged with murder or manslaughter for killing their
Introduction Leaving an abusive relationship is difficult for many women. On average, battered women attempt to leave abusive partners approximately five to seven times before they are successfully out of the relationship (Ferraro 1998). There are some women, however, who even after numerous attempts to leave have been unable to get away from their violent
Since the 1990s, there has been a growing interest in the battered woman and the violence that permeates her life. Battering is a difficult topic, because it exists in the privacy of the family home, grows in silence and shame, and has historically been acceptable and even expected from male heads of households. In reality
From a sociological feminist perspective, a battering relationship is one of captivity, and battered women are survivors of terror. Battering is an obsessive campaign of coercion and intimidation designed by a man to dominate and control a woman, which occurs in the personal context of intimacy and thrives in the sociopolitical climate of patriarchy. For
Since the 1970s significant progress has been made in documenting the nature and extent of different types of woman battering, as well as in the implementation of emergency shelters, 24-hour crisis hotlines, transitional housing, legal aid, criminal justice responses, and social services aimed at reducing the prevalence of this widespread problem. According to recent statistics
Battered woman syndrome (BWS), first proposed in the 1970s after research demonstrated the psychological impact from domestic violence on the victim, has undergone further clarification since its inception. This research paper reviews the historical issues concerning domestic violence and its victims in the criminal justice system (including the criminal and family courts), describes psychological theories