Incarcerated Battered Women: A Comparison of Battered Women Who Killed Their Abusers and Those Incarcerated for Other Offenses

• NCJ Number: 165186
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1997) Pages: 1-19
• Author(s): M O'Keefe
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared battered women incarcerated for killing or seriously assaulting their abusers with battered women incarcerated for other offenses to explore possible similarities and differences in the characteristics and experiences of the two groups and to determine what factors may have led some battered women to use lethal force against their partners.

Abstract

Comparisons were made on a number of variables, including sociodemographic factors, characteristics of the battering relationship, alcohol/drug use of battered women and their abusers, perceived social support, actions taken to end the violence, prior criminal behavior, and childhood trauma factors. Findings revealed that women in the homicide/assault group were older, in the relationship longer, and experienced a longer duration of violence in the relationship than women in the comparison group. Women in the homicide/assault group also experienced more frequent and severe battering, including sex assaults, and sustained more injuries than those in the comparison group. Further, battered women who killed or seriously assaulted their partners were more likely to believe their lives were in danger, were less likely to use violence against their partners, and were less likely to have a prior criminal record or to have previously served time than women in the comparison group. Battered women in both groups, however, shared some common experiences. For example, over 75 percent of all women reported being beaten and 60 percent reported being sexually assaulted by their partners. Most said they sustained serious injuries due to the violence, including broken bones, black eyes, cuts, and head injuries. Nearly 50 percent of all women indicated they had been victims of parental physical abuse or child sexual abuse and had witnessed interparental violence. Implications of the study findings are discussed. 44 references and 3 tables