Battered woman defense

The battered woman defense is a defense used in court that the person accused of an assault/murder was suffering from battered person syndrome at the material time. Because the defense is most commonly used by women, it is usually characterised in court as battered woman syndrome or battered wife syndrome.

There is no medical classification for this specific syndrome in the sense used by lawyers, though it has historically been invoked in court systems. Similar to an insanity plea, battered person syndrome is purely a legal term used to refer to the severe psychological trauma caused by domestic abuse. Although the condition is not gender-specific, the admission of evidence regarding battered woman syndrome as relevant to the defense of self-defense is commonly understood as a response by some jurisdictions to male favorable gender-bias in the criminal justice system. Thus, this is a reference to any person who, because of constant and severe domestic abuse usually involving physical abuse or threats of physical abuse by a partner, may become severely depressed or unable to take any independent action that would allow him or her to escape the abuse.

Usually the victim's fears are based in reality, as she may lack the social support, financial means, or may be too physically or emotionally disabled to survive on her own. Victims may have low self-esteem, suffer from , and are often led to believe that the abuse is their fault, that they deserved it, and, due to misplaced feelings of loyalty, or fear of retaliation from their abuser, may be unwilling to press charges against their abuser.

There is consensus in the medical profession that abuse often results in PTSD. The law makes reference to a psychological condition, even though neither the DSM nor the ICD medical classification guides as currently drafted includes the syndrome in the sense used by lawyers.

The courts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States have accepted the extensive and growing body of research showing that battered partners can use force to defend themselves and sometimes kill their abusers because of the abusive and sometimes life-threatening situation in which they find themselves, acting in the firm belief that there is no other way than to kill for self-preservation. The courts have recognized that this evidence may support a variety of defenses to a charge of murder or to mitigate the sentence if convicted of lesser offenses. Battered woman syndrome is not a legal defense in and of itself, but may legally constitute:

...
Wikipedia