husband . Women who are abused live in constant fear, terrified for their own lives

and the lives of their children. The victim feels the abuse is her own fault, and that

belief is constantly weighing on her conscience, lowering her self-esteem, and

destroying her tenuous grip on sanity. If she can no longer take the abuse, and in

self-defence kills her abuser, that is not revenge, but saving the lives of her children

and herself. Therefore, Battered Women’s Syndrome should be an accepted defence

in the court of law, and understood by the judge, jury, and general public.

Conceptualized by Lenore Walker in 1979, Battered Women’s Syndrome

(B.W.S.) describes a pattern of behavioral and psychological symptoms found in

women living in abusive relationships . The idea of Battered Women’s Syndrome

has evolved from its conception in the late 70’s. It was first thought of as a “learned

helplessness” , a condition to explain a victim’s inability to protect herself against

the batterer’s violence. Modernly, the Syndrome has been defined as Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.T.), which is a psychologi

their relationship and live happily together. The fourth and final stage is

woman held responsible for the killing of her abuser should not be seen as guilty of murder; she is not a murderess, but a human being acting in self-defence. The legal system should recognize this, and accept it as an appropriate defense in a court of law.

Some topics in this essay:
Women’s Syndrome, Disorder PTST, , Aaron Kelly, Gerrard Winter, Dr Hutton’s, Mina Stephens, Dr Sutton, Syndrome BWS, Battered Women’s, women’s syndrome, battered women’s, battered women’s syndrome, judge jury, court law, abuser judge jury, using defence, guilty murder, own fault, lives children, battered woman, victim react,