Battered woman syndrome and spousal homicide: Bridging the gap between psychological understanding and legal strategy
Presentation Type
Abstract
Faculty Advisor
Thomas Loikith
Access Type
Event
Start Date
25-4-2025 1:30 PM
End Date
25-4-2025 2:29 PM
Description
Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) is a pattern of responses shown by a woman who has suffered persistent intimate partner violence from her partner. Victims show a range of physical and psychological effects from the abuse. It has been used in court to expand the concept of self-defense when a woman is charged with the murder of her abusive partner, but it is not universally accepted. Moreover, BWS has not yet been recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses (DSM). This lack of uniform recognition of BWS in either the discipline of law or psychology creates a problem that impacts not just victims of intimate partner violence, but also society at large. This is a complex problem that requires interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. From September 2024 to March 2025, I analyzed relevant sources including court opinions, statutes, and articles from scholarly journals, from the disciplines of law and psychology. I identified conflicting insights, found common ground between them and integrated those insights to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of BWS. That better understanding of the problem leads to suggested resolutions of the problem. I conclude that a greater understanding of BWS, starting with its recognition in the DSM, will lead to greater acceptance of BWS as a defense in court proceedings. Besides uniform acceptance of BWS by courts, existing law regarding “self defense” should be revised to specifically recognize BWS as either a part of “self defense” or as a new, separate defense.
Battered woman syndrome and spousal homicide: Bridging the gap between psychological understanding and legal strategy
Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) is a pattern of responses shown by a woman who has suffered persistent intimate partner violence from her partner. Victims show a range of physical and psychological effects from the abuse. It has been used in court to expand the concept of self-defense when a woman is charged with the murder of her abusive partner, but it is not universally accepted. Moreover, BWS has not yet been recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses (DSM). This lack of uniform recognition of BWS in either the discipline of law or psychology creates a problem that impacts not just victims of intimate partner violence, but also society at large. This is a complex problem that requires interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. From September 2024 to March 2025, I analyzed relevant sources including court opinions, statutes, and articles from scholarly journals, from the disciplines of law and psychology. I identified conflicting insights, found common ground between them and integrated those insights to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of BWS. That better understanding of the problem leads to suggested resolutions of the problem. I conclude that a greater understanding of BWS, starting with its recognition in the DSM, will lead to greater acceptance of BWS as a defense in court proceedings. Besides uniform acceptance of BWS by courts, existing law regarding “self defense” should be revised to specifically recognize BWS as either a part of “self defense” or as a new, separate defense.
Comments
Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.