Legal Studies Kelsey Wells
Legal Studies Kelsey Wells
Legal studies Kelsey Wells
Battered Woman Syndrome
Over the past two decades the community's awareness of domestic and family violence has increased significantly and in alliance with this shift, substantial legal reforms have occurred which are directed at assisting women who are victims of domestic violence. The term Battered Woman Syndrome is a theory which is now used in Australian jurisdictions when explaining the behaviour of certain women who suffers abuse from their husbands, partners or lovers. This theory was coined by Dr. Lenore Walker, a prominent feminist academic and psychologist who aimed to serve this theory as an explanation as to why some abused women ultimately kill their abusive partners rather than leave them (McMahon, 1999). Battered Woman Syndrome was first introduced into the legal system via self-defense which was viewed as a mechanism for explaining the behaviour of battered women to juries.
Grandville : Cent Proverbes
Domestic violence in Spain 1998-2007
City of Fresno domestic violence statistics.While many of these reforms towards recognizing Battered Woman Syndrome as a legal defense has been made in many Australian jurisdictions, an understanding of what the syndrome is and how it can be used effectively in our courts is still a substantial matter of concern for our legal system.
Domestic violence is not a new phenomenon and is widespread in Australia especially among women who feel as though this abuse and violence is inescapable. The reasons why women may find themselves trapped in an abusive relationship or feel as though they are unable to resort to the protection of the criminal justice system can been explained as Battered Women. Battered Women syndrome came to prominence in the early 1980s as various lawyers began using the defense in homicide cases when women who had been a victim of domestic violence had murdered their partners to escape the abusive relationship.