ABSTRACT
In 1979 new categories, ‘battered spouse’ and ‘battered woman’, were added to the International Classification of Diseases: Clinical Modification scheme.1 The classification scheme is compiled by the United States National Center for Health Statistics and lists ‘all known diseases and related entities’. It is employed to ensure a common system of classification throughout the United States and is intended to assist clinicians in dealing with patients. Creation of these two new categories was hailed as a breakthrough by many therapeutic practitioners and some activists. Including the ‘battered woman syndrome’ in the International Classification of Diseases would, it was argued, ‘provide impetus for further exploration of the symptoms, treatment and incidence of the problem’.2 Official recognition by professional therapists and physicians was greeted as ‘the first step in formulating appropriate clinical responses’.
