| 释义 |
Battered Woman Syndrome
A psychological syndrome suffered by a person (typically a woman) as a result of prolonged and extreme physical and emotional abuse by her partner. Battered Woman Syndrome has informed the basis for partial defence to murder in cases where the battered woman kills her abusive partner, although there is no formal legal defence properly referred to as Battered Woman Syndrome; rather, the evidence of abuse and its psychological effects upon the battered woman may provide the basis for a defence of loss of control or diminished responsibility (R v Ahluwhalia [1992] 4 All ER 889 (CA)). While Battered Woman Syndrome has been criticized for its failure to account for the wide range of responses that battered women may experience in response to severe abuse, it has provided one set of reasons explaining why battered women may be unable to escape from an abusive partner. |