ABSTRACT
Box 11.1 Battered woman syndrome (Walker, 1999) This term is sometimes applied to women in violent relationships who kill their abusive partner. It describes a characteristic pattern of psychological and behavioural responses by a woman to severe abuse inflicted upon her by her partner. It has two stages: • the ‘cycle of violence’ – the tension-building stage ➞ the acute battering incident ➞ kindness and
contrite loving behaviour stage • ‘learned helplessness’, as an explanation for why the woman is unable to leave the relationship. The concept has been criticized for stereotyping women and ignoring the other factors which might make it difficult for women to leave a violent relationship. It is neither a psychiatric diagnosis nor in itself a legal defence to a charge of murder: • It has been used successfully to support a defence of provocation, to explain why women who kill their
abusers may not fit into the usual sudden loss of control of the old provocation defence. • The new partial defence to murder of loss of control explicitly allows that the loss of control may not be
sudden (see Chapter 20), thus maintaining battered woman syndrome potentially within the defence. • Women who are the victims of repeated violence within relationships experience depression, anxiety
and PTSD which may sometimes amount to abnormality of mind, and may allow a defence of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
