NCJ Number
132949
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Law Volume: 18 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 169-185
Date Published
1991
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The law of self defense does not give legal significance to the dynamics of the relationship between a battered woman and an assaultive male with its underlying characteristics of intimacy, familiarity, and dependency.
Abstract
Traditional legal principles impose a view that some inherent aspects of the relationship are actually incompatible with the exercise of self defense such as the woman's continued tolerance of abusive behavior. Consequently, the assertion of self defense is problematic for a battered woman. This legal dichotomy exists even though battered women comprise an identifiable population group against whom the commission of unprovoked violent attacks is a statistical probability. Although a battered woman often acts in self defense in a way that does not fit into the traditional elements of self defense, denying her the defense ignores reality. The male-dominated culture under which traditional rules of self defense developed did not consider the complex situation in which a battered woman finds herself. The traditional self-defense rules need to be expanded to meet the reality of today's society. 63 footnotes