The Issue Of Battered Woman Syndrome Essay

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The National Institute of Justice, one in four women in the United States has experienced domestic violence during her lifetime (Battered Woman Syndrome, 2012). This type of abuse can be fatal and detrimental to one’s personal growth. When woman are repeatedly abused, they show different signs, symptoms and general characteristics. These characteristics are defined as Battered Woman Syndrome.

Tanya Mitchell frantically called 911 to report a shooting-a shooting she committed. In an act of self-defense against her abusive husband who, at the time, was threatening to kill her, she did what she had to do to save her own life. From her reports, her husband was not only abusive, but that he gave men in his “motorcycle club” permission to gang rape her-while he watched. Specific example of his sadistic abuse include him telling her they were going to get married while holding her at gunpoint, making her play Russian roulette, and even trying to rip off her nails. Her attorneys were going to use Battered Woman Syndrome (to take her psychological health based off of her abuse) as a factor in the case but were not confident it would

Throughout the 1800’s in the United States, state laws and cultural practices continued to support a husband's “right” to discipline his wife. It wasn't until 1895 that women were given the right to divorce their husbands no matter the conditions (Dryden-Edwards MD, 2012). Another stride in unveiling the taboo and private nature of domestic violence was made through the Battered Women's Movement, which was a by-product of the Women’s Liberation Movement from the 1960’s. Greatly supported by the Feminist theory, this movement was frequently credited for unmasking the extent of intimate partner violence and agitating for social change (Meyer-Emerick, 2002).

The report responding to section 40507 of the Violence Against Women Act from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services- National Institute of Mental Health determined that:

The laws of BDS are kind of confusing. In many states is now recognizable in legislation

The United States has a long history of domestic violence. Nearly six million American women will be battered by their spouses every year (United Way, 1998). Tradition gives men the right to control their family including their wife. Violence

Before looking at the use of battered women’s syndrome as a legal defense, it would help to look at the definition of who exactly a battered woman is. In Daniel Saunders’ research of rates of husband and wife violence, he uses the term “battered women” in the broad sense to mean female recipients of any form of physical force that is intended to hurt. Therefore, Battered Women’s Syndrome is the name given to the measurable psychological changes that may occur after prolonged terms of abuse and is considered a subgroup of

The controversial concept of Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) is a psychological theory that aims to explain the behavior of certain women who suffer abuse from their husbands, partners, or significant others. The theory was first proposed and introduced by Dr. Lenore Walker in the 1970’s based on her clinical observations. It then quickly became a common way to validate criminal behavior of women who were charged with the murder of their partner, however since the syndrome wasn’t confirmed through scientific research as a real disorder, it didn’t enjoy widespread support from the forensic psychologist’s community.

Domestic violence became a realization and a serious concern in the mid 1970’s for many Americans. “This realization is due to the women advocating on behalf of the battered women movement”

I. Introduction: The world today is violent and is riddled with violence. Through media, society becomes continuous observers of violence. With this exposure, one may enable to grow accepting the act of brutality. This will be observed as something normal, thus, emotional numbness begins to set in.

1). This fact shows how important it is to supplement many programs within the US to supplement the huge amounts of battered women who never receive justice for their abuse. Women who have been abused by their husbands have many rights to defend themselves if they feel their self or family lives are in danger. The battered woman syndrome is a common term used in place for women who go through domestic violence relationships. Dixon stated within an article that “Battered Women Syndrome was first proposed in the 1970’s and was based on the clinical observations of Dr. Lenore Walker” (Dixon, 2007, pg. 1). According to the book Family Violence, Wallace and Roberson (2014) defines battered women syndrome as “a pattern of psychological symptoms that develop after someone has lived in a battering relationship” (Wallace & Roberson, 2014, pg.233). Based on this definition woman who is abused are negatively affected and may adapt this syndrome. For many years the battered women syndrome was not used within the court system as a defense for women. Women and prosecutors had to fight their way out before this law was passed in different states. This leads to the effects on how BWS psychological conditions can really affect women who have been

The Battered Women Syndrome is a series of characteristics in women who are physically and psychologically abused by an important dominant male in their lives. These women learn helplessness and dependency; sometimes these characteristics originate from childhood. According to Dr. Lenore E. Walker, a woman must experience two cycles, before she can be labeled a “battered woman”. The two cycles are called the “cycle of violence”. This cycle leads to the feeling that the abuse will never stop. It almost becomes natural. Sometimes the relationships will be calm, and the abuser will apologize for what happened. This part is called the “honeymoon cycle”, but at other points in the cycle the tension and

Domestic violence used to be considered a private family matter and was not considered a societal problem until feminists in the 70's started pushing the matter. Beginning in the 1970’s, social policy toward female victims of domestic assaults focused on improving legal response and

Battered Women Syndrome is a difficult topic because it delves into the neglect, abuse and the harassment a woman previously received by her partner/husband. Within domestic violence patterns of anger, frustration, abuse, neglect, and remorse can occur anywhere from twice a week to multiple times a day for years because the cycle keeps on circling as explained previously. In the courtroom a woman must tell her experiences providing graphic imagery and detail through words. She often also physically embodies her pain and suffering as she relives each moment while telling her

Violence experienced from an intimate partner before pregnancy is the strongest risk factor for predicting violence during pregnancy (James et al., 2013) Teen girls were at greater risk of experiencing violence from an intimate partner during pregnancy and in early motherhood compared to older women (Brownridge et al., 2011). Taft and Collegues (2004) study consisted of 784 teen girls. Among these girls, pregnancy was associated with an increase in experiencing partner violence (Taft et al., 2004). Similar studies suggest that young women are at greater risk of experiencing reproductive control from an intimate partner resulting in an unintended pregnancy (Miller et al., 2010). Therefore, research supports the idea that teen dating violence