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Theoretical factors of domestic violence
Psychological and sociological theories of domestic violence gosselin 2005
Psychological and sociological theories of domestic violence gosselin 2005
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Source V: McColgan, Aileen. “In Defense of Battered Women Who Kill.” Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 13, no. 4, 1993, pp. 508–529. In this article author, McColgan explains many reasons why battered women go to the extreme of killing their abuser. She references some cases where battered woman have killed their abusers because they hit back in the midst of the physical attack, responded to verbal threats by the abuser, used force in the aftermath of the attack or in anticipation of another one, while others were motivated by feelings of revenge. McColgan argues in this article that “self-defense whether at common law or under section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 should be more often considered as a possible defense even in those cases
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
Bibbings , Lois , and Donald Nicolson. 2000. “General principles of criminal law'? A feminist
Beaten wives are not such ideal victims because males want power and dominance (Christie (1986). The development has taken place ‘because we have improved morally, not because we are becoming more kind but we are now so affluent that party’s can leave- divorce (Christie (1986). It is no longer acceptable to put up with a domestic beating or raping, however this was not the case for Sarah (Christie (1986). However; for Steven Hunter was jailed for life with no parole for murdering a young Melbourne wo...
Pennington, B, E., S. (2014, September 19). In Domestic Violence Cases, N.F.L. Has a History of Lenience . Retrieved from
Martin, Sheilah L. "R. V. Morgentaler Et Al." Canadian Journal Of Women & The Law 1.1 (1985): 194-205. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
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.
Fagan, Jeffrey. (1993). The Social Control of Spouse Assault. In: Adler, Freda and Laufer, William S New Directions in Criminological Theory. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. p187.
The question raised in the Hawthorne v. State amicus was related to the expert testimony of Dr. Lenore E. Walker, a Clinical Psychologist with extensive involvement in the study and research of “battered woman syndrome.” Amicus indicated Dr. Walker’s testimony would provide the Trier of facts with expert opinion on a battered woman’s belief that resorting to the use of deadly force against her husband was required, if the woman had perceived imminent death or bodily hard to herself and/or her children. Dr. Walker would clarify battered woman’s syndrome to the jury including clarifying all the relevant stages, cycles of violence, symptoms and reasons why women choose to stay with the abuser.
2.) National Research Council. Understanding Violence Against Women, Washington, DC: National Academy of Press. 1996.
... most popular remedy for battered women. This remedy always involves the state or state vs. someone and proves beyond a reasonable doubt. The second remedy is Civil law where the burden of proof is the highest. This involves private individuals, or an individual and some branch of government. The continuing of violence is dangerous to women especially the first 72 hours after she leaves. Statute 16-25-20 states if there is an injury a police officer must arrest but if only fear is involved police have discretion. Self-defense is another aspect of domestic violence. What if she decides, no more beatings and kills him. Has he drove her to insanity or should she control her anger and just leave after so many times of asking him to stop? What if she does control her anger and he kills her for leaving? These are questions that must be addressed in helping battered women.
In our debate we discussed whether women are just as violent as men. The pro side of the debate said yes women are just as violent as men, and the opposing side said men are more violent than women. In the yes side of the debate violence was described as physical and emotional assaults. As in violent acts carried out with the intention of causing another person physical pain or injury, no matter whether actual injury occurs, and any unjust, cruel act, or maltreatment of another human being. In the no side of the debate violence was just described as physical assaults, and not emotional assaults. This paper will discuss both sides of the debate, and the pros and cons of the arguments made by both sides.
Pearson, Patricia. When She Was Bad: Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence. New York: Viking, 1997
“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).
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.
Violence against women (VAW) is now considered and recognized as a public health predicament and a human rights infringement of a worldwide scale and force (Ono, 2013; Raj & Silverman, 2002). Research evidence exists for it serving as a crucial social determinant of health and its resulting vast and damaging impact on physical and mental health for women in Canada (Sharma, 2001). Violence as a concept includes diverse forms of abuse that are directed at women and girls across their lifetime. One critical category or form of violence against women is domestic violence. For the purpose of this paper terms violence against women and domestic violence will be used interchangeably. Domestic violence has been recognized as a critical social problem