ABSTRACT
We have seen that the answer to the (strictly legal) question whether the defences of justifiable force, duress and provocation are inherently inimical to women defendants appears to be that they are not. Their legal construction permits women to be judged as women in the sense that the gravity of any provocation suffered by them, the fortitude expected of them in the face of threat and the necessity and proportionality of any defensive action on their part may be judged taking into account their sex.
