NCJ Number
166633
Date Published
1996
Length
315 pages
Annotation
The battered woman syndrome is examined with respect to its use as a legal defense and its implications for women, based on a review of the literature and interviews with abused women and professionals in the field.
Abstract
The analysis focuses on the distinction between the concept of this syndrome and the reality of domestic assault. It notes that battered women often adopt heroic means of survival and retain accurate and reasoned perceptions concerning the actions and intentions of their abusers. In contrast, the logic underlying the battered woman's syndrome denies women their reason and will and reinforces their victimization. In addition, portraying abused women as irrational and lacking will undermines otherwise valid claims of self-defense and harms women more generally. Thus, courts that have relied on the concept of the battered woman syndrome in child custody cases have often deprived mothers of custody by declaring them incapable of responsible parenting. The analysis concludes that the concept of a syndrome society is harmful and that justice can be achieved without stripping victims of the reason and personal responsibility that make citizenship possible. Courts should take specific situations and accurate perceptions of danger into account to provide justice to abused women without reducing them to victims. Chapter reference notes and index