Domestic Violence – Battered Woman Syndrome
Battered woman syndrome is a psychological condition describing a behavior pattern that victims of domestic violence develop due to severe long-term abuse. Battered woman syndrome endangers a victim since victims feel helpless, defeated, passive, and depressed, believing that they cannot leave their abuser. Due to the battered woman syndrome, they hope that the abuser will stop hurting them.
Battered woman syndrome develops in three stages. In the first stage, the abuser destabilizes the relationship. In the second stage, the abuser commits abuse, including sexual, physical, emotional, or psychological abuse, and the tension explodes (Gosselin, 2018). In the third stage, the abuser realizes that they acted in and apologize. The third stage is the honeymoon stage, since the abuser tries to rectify his behavior. The victim forgives the abuser in the honeymoon stage, and the cycle starts again.
The use of battered woman syndrome as a defense for excusable homicide is often frowned upon since it appears as an excuse for women to get lighter sentences. Battered woman syndrome as a defense for justifiable homicide favors the women since they claim to kill their spouses in self-defense (Gosselin, 2018). However, the woman could also be the abuser and kill her husband and claim self-defense since society expects men to be the abusers and women to be the victims. The battered woman syndrome defense only views women based on gender roles and patriarchy, expecting women to be passive and to obey their men. However, society has changed since many women are in high government positions, and many women earn more than their husbands. Hence, both men and women can be abusers, a notion that the battered women syndrome ignores.
Battered women syndrome considers women as the victims and as helpless. When such women kill their husbands, they claim self-defense using the battered woman syndrome and get lighter sentences. Although women are the victims in most cases, men also experience abuse from their female partners, making the battered woman syndrome appear favoritism towards women.
References
Gosselin, D. K. (2018). Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Heavy Hands.
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Question 
Battered Woman Syndrome
Describe Battered Woman Syndrome and analyze the possible negative implications of using Battered Woman Syndrome as a defense for excusable homicide.