Battered Woman Syndrome Research Paper

1999 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Battered women syndrome essays

I. Introduction and Overview

Battered women and their abusers often suffer from psychological disorders and past abuse in their childhood that may make them more vulnerable to fall into the situation with their respective roles. Faced with limited options, women sometimes decide to either run away, stay or kill their abusers. Women often as a consequence of the abuse suffer from Battered Woman Syndrome that is often used as an explanation as to why they kill their abusers as self-defense. In this paper I will focus on understanding the psychology of the abused victim as well as the abuser. I will then discuss the options the victim has and what determines her actions and what consequences they may hold for her legally. Lastly, I will write …show more content…

Victims are said to undergo a “cycle of violence”, which comprises of three stages (Walker, 1992; Savage 2006). First, the “tension building phase” where the victim is subjected to low level of violent and verbal attack by the abuser (Walker, 1992; Savage 2006). The victim tends to ignore or incorrectly perceive the red flags (Walker, 1992; Savage 2006). Second, is the “battering phase” where the victim is subjected to high degree of violence and is aware that she is being abused (Walker, 1992; Savage 2006). Third, the “honeymoon phase” is one which follows the second phase immediately where the victim tends to forgive the abuser after he asks for forgiveness, reassures her of his love and promises of not abusing in the future (Walker, 1992; Savage 2006). Women often fall in this vicious cycle and are faced with learned helplessness (Walker, 1992; Savage 2006). With this psychology these women feel they cannot escape their abusers, have no control over what will happen to them and feel very hopeless to find courage to try to leave or ask for help (Walker, 1992; Savage

Show More
Related

  • Angelique Lavallee's Case: Self-Discrimence

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therefore, this case plays on the idea that, when an individual feels his or her life to be in danger, self-defence is accurate. In the case of Ms. Lavallee, both reasonableness and ethics were questioned. Since Ms. Lavallee is a victim of battered woman syndrome, when she pulls the trigger at that life-threatening moment, cannot be understood except in terms of the cumulative effect of months or years of being brutally abused. Overall, this case is an exceptional example of how self-defence comes to play within the criminal justice system. It is important for the law to revaluate cases for a better understanding of the balance of inclination over pain. For instance, although Lavallee was thinking that her life was in danger with action she committed, there is reason and story behind her crime. When the case is viewed from this perspective, it becomes clear that the battered woman’s knowledge of her partner’s violence was so profound that she knows the extent and nature of the violence beforehand, which allowed her to determine that this time it was different, and would probably result in life threatening

    Read More

  • “Through the Eyes of a Victim”

    1658 Words  | 4 Pages

    The staggering truths about domestic violence are evident in every town, city, state and nation! Furthermore, it is a criminal offense that does not discriminate against color, creed, gender, or socioeconomic status! Marcy was all too familiar with the horrific dangers of this crime. In fact, domestic violence took Marcy through her own private hell and learning the difficult lessons of life, including the ones that no one discloses. At the budding age of nineteen, her first true love, Barry, was promising marriage with the hopes of starting a family. Barry was charming, romantic, and completely devoted to Marcy! He seemingly was the perfect man, the man of her dreams, and the man who evolved into a monster. Marcy was criminally beaten and mentally broken! Moreover, Marcy is one of the millions who have fallen prey to these devastating and horrendous acts of violence. The following research will inform you of the staggering statistics, the predicting indicators, including battered women’s syndrome, the tactics of abusers, and the laws against domestic violence.

    Read More

  • Battered Woman Syndrome: The Case Of Donna Osborn

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your attention today. [Slide #2] I would like to assert that separation is not the end of a relationship. Divorce is not the end of a relationship. Even an arrest is not the end of a relationship. Only death is the end of a relationship. In the case of defendant Donna Osborn, her insistence that ‘“one way or another I’ll be free,”’ as told in the testimony of her friend Jack Mathews and repeated in many others’, indicates that despite the lack of planning, the defendant had the full intent to kill her husband, Clinton Osborn.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Battered-Women Syndrome

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    During this time, Marica could have been under the protection of the police through a witness program or a shelter for women who are abused. She could have also left to stay with her family.

    Read More

  • Lavallee's Case

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Battered women constitute one of the most marginalized groupings in the social order. Their relationship incidents occasionally put these individuals into disagreement with the law, particularly when they murder their violent partners. The Battered woman syndrome (BWS) was created by clinical psychologist (1970’s) with an intention of depicting the series of occurrences that physically abused women frequently experience in their relationships.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Film 'Waitress'

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Queen’s “Being Emotionally Abuse: A Phenomenological Study of Adult Women’s Experience of Emotionally Abusive Intimate Partner Relationship”, focused on a total of 15 women, who have been emotionally abused from an intimate partner relationship and wanted the women to describe, “What is it like to live the life of a woman who is emotionally abused by her intimate partner?” When experiencing emotional abuse, it can be express as “not easily detected; it is non-transparent in there is no physical markers.” (Bornstein 2007, Campbell & Humphreys, 1984; Evans 1996; Gelles & Strauss, 19888; Kurst-Swanger & Petcosk, 2003, O’Leary 1999; Walker, 2000). The emotional abuse can be very hurtful towards the women at times because while in the cycle of the relationship, the woman cannot tell when something bad or good will happen. While this is happening, she begins to lose strength that she once had before and in away she is trapped inside her own mind. With physical harm, individuals outside the relationship can notice the bumps and bruises on the skin. Alma, a young mother of three pre-teen girls describes her personal experience with emotional abuse as, “I was very restricted. He wouldn’t allow me to contact my mom...my family, my friends. After I had my daughter, I wasn’t allowed to go to the doctor. I could only go to take my daughter...I didn’t know anything about our checking account..I didn’t have my own money.” When thinking about emotional abuse, understand that you cannot see the “bumps and bruises” but you can still see the effect it has on the partner by using their minds as their weapon rather focus upon the individual. According to Queen and others, after their research, they would define

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence in Canada

    1655 Words  | 4 Pages

    An abused woman is always faced with a number of different choices from which she may consider, with regards to seeking help or ending the relationship with a variety of alternatives, the woman knows each decision involves a variety of risks. Time after time, the common question arises, “why doesn’t she just leave?” This question can be answered by analyzing the psychological effects domestic abuse has on women. Many women are unable to cope with the emotional and psychological stress of domestic abuse and resort to violence and extre...

    Read More

  • Battered Women’s Syndrome Plea and a Defendants Financial Dependence: Evaluating Legal Decisions

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    To discuss the role of the battered women’s syndrome in relation to how characteristics of a victim affect legal decision-making it is important to define what battered women’s syndrome is. Battered women’s syndrome is the array of physical and psychological injuries exhibited by women who have been beaten repeatedly or otherwise abused by their partners or spouses (Dutton & Painter, 1993). More specifically women feel helpless or a lack of control and do not leave their abusive partner. According to Russell, Ragatz, and Kraus (2012) Lenore Walker (1984) theorized that battered women experience a three-phase cycle of abuse through learned helplessness: 1) the tension building up to the abuse, 2) acute battering and abuse escalation, and 3) remorse for the violence exhibited by the abuser toward the victim. She argued that battered women believe that the abuse they withstand was their fault, and as a result, stay in the relationship.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Judges Role In Ending Domestic Violence

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Domestic Violence is a widely recognized issue here in the United States. Though many people are familiar with domestic violence, there are still many facts that people do not understand. Abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, verbal, sexual and financial. Many victims of physical abuse are also fall victim to these abuse tactics as well. An abusive partner often uses verbal, mental, emotional, and financial abuse to break their partner so to speak. It is through this type of abuse the victim often feels as though they are not adequately meeting their partner’s needs.

    Read More

  • Use of CBT to Treat Victims of Domestic Violence

    2253 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women will continue to suffer from domestic violence unless there is some sort of intervention to help them. When dealing with this population, it is essential to create a safe environment where the woman can talk freely about the abuse without any retaliation from the abuser. When someone comes into a therapeutic session, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and care. This in turn will create a sense of hope that a different type of life can be possible. Also, knowing that there is a support system can help the woman begin the process of change. Despite this, the process of leaving the abusive partner is slow (Warshaw, n.d.)

    Read More

  • Analysis: The Day It Happened By Rosario Morales

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Such a woman faces two major obstacles: fear and finance -- fear for her safety and that of her children and a lack of money to support herself or them. The most dangerous time in the life of a battered woman is when she attempts to leave her abuser. Threatened by the loss of control, the batterer is likely to become even more violent and may even try to kill her. There are simply not enough shelters to protect all the women who need them” (1).

    Read More

  • Battered Woman Syndrome: Self-Defense Plea

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many cases where self- defense has been used as a plea where the victim felt they were in harms’ way or unable to escape a specific situation that ended badly. The definition for self- defense is: 1. Defense of oneself when physically attacked 2. Defense of what belongs to oneself, as ones work or reputation 3. (Law) the right to protect oneself against violence or threatened violence with whatever force or means reasonable or necessary. According to an expert on battered women, a woman must experience at least two complete battering cycles before being labeled a battered woman. (Walker) According to Dowd, “he believes the proper use of BWS assists the fact finder to understand the state of mind of the battered woman at the time she fought back against her abuser.”(1) Women should be able to use BWS as a plea when habitual abuse occurs within a relationship with a significant other and results in violence or worse death.

    Read More

  • Sociological Theory Of Domestic Violence Essay

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some women in abusive relationships or domestic violence situations stay in those situations even if they have been beaten or abused. There is a cycle of violence that keeps women in these types of situations “1) a tension-building phase that

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence In America

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    Domestic violence is not just fighting, hitting or an occasional argument. It’s a chronic abuse of power. The abuser of domestic violence, controls and tortures the victim of threats, intimidation, and physical violence. Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of violence in America. The abusers are not only men, women can be abusers as well. Women make up the vast majority of domestic violence. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), 90-95% of domestic violence victims are females and 70% of intimidating homicides are females. Domestic violence is a serious crime and everyone needs to be aware of its effects. This essay presents and explains the evidence supporting the major risk factors for intimate partner homicides.

    Read More

  • How to Reduce the Rate of Domestic Violence

    2227 Words  | 5 Pages

    As professional athletes remind us on a weekly basis, domestic violence is a social problem which continues to plague the nation. Through stricter law enforcement, improved hospital reporting techniques, and nationwide education and counseling, this problem can be reduced. Domestic violence has many different names such as, family violence, battering, wife beating, and domestic abuse. All these terms refer to the same thing, abuse by marital, common law, or a dating partner in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence is not limited to physical beating. It is any behavior that is intended to overpower and control another human being through the use of humiliation, fear, and physical or verbal assault. Domestic violence is a very important issue in today’s society because it has such a profound negative affect on the abused, mentally and physically. Verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse. Verbal abuse is words that attack or injure an individual’s self-image, which eventually shatters one’s self-esteem. In this paper, I will discuss the many kinds of abuses against women, the reasons why women stay in these relationships, and possible solutions to diminish or reduce the problems of domestic violence.

    Read More

More about Battered Woman Syndrome Research Paper

Open Document