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Simple English definitions for legal terms

battered-spouse syndrome

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A quick definition of battered-spouse syndrome:

Battered-spouse syndrome, also known as battered-woman syndrome, is a condition that affects women who have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their partner. It was first described in the 1970s and consists of a cycle of violence that includes tension-building, acute battering, and loving-contrition stages. This syndrome is sometimes used as a defense for women who have killed their abuser. It can affect anyone who has experienced abuse from their partner, regardless of gender.

A more thorough explanation:

Battered-spouse syndrome is a medical and psychological condition that affects individuals who have suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their spouse or partner. It is also known as battered-woman syndrome.

The syndrome was first described in the 1970s by Dr. Lenore Walker. It consists of a three-stage cycle of violence:

  • The tension-building stage, which may include verbal and mild physical abuse
  • The acute battering stage, which includes stronger verbal abuse, increased physical violence, and perhaps rape or other sexual abuse
  • The loving-contrition stage, which includes the abuser's apologies, attentiveness, kindness, and gift-giving

Battered-spouse syndrome is sometimes used as a defense to justify or mitigate a woman's killing of a man.

For example, if a woman kills her abusive husband after years of physical and emotional abuse, she may argue that she was suffering from battered-spouse syndrome and acted in self-defense.

Another example is a woman who is afraid to leave her abusive partner because she fears for her safety and the safety of her children. She may feel trapped and unable to seek help.

These examples illustrate how battered-spouse syndrome can have a profound impact on an individual's mental and physical health, as well as their ability to make decisions and seek help.

battered-person syndrome | battered-wife syndrome

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just push him off the entire seat
JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:34
LMAOOOO
JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:35
no he’s literally like 8 and he fully just put his head on my bicep and slept
JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:35
he has since moved
22:12
@SplitterusClitterus: me yesterday
gulc baby pls text me back... i miss you ...... :(
22:23
i just went into a discord vc and yelled "YALL I JUST GOT INTO J.M. SCHOOL OF LAW"
22:24
people were getting excited :sob:
22:25
then someone was like "what does jm stand for" and i was like .. well
AHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH
@JumpySubsequentDolphin: wait this is so cute, also where r u going
JOE MBIDEN
JumpySubsequentDolphin
22:39
@splitty Oregon!
oh yay for what thats so random
JumpySubsequentDolphin
22:45
haha my brother and sister in law live there
so cutie oregon is beatiful
soyalmondoatmilk
8:38
good morning! hoping waves will come our wave today
8:42
GW wave today?
8:57
There’s someone I found on here with the username threeoutchange and if my understanding is correct that’s a reference to the debut album by a pretty cool 90s-00s Japanese band called Supercar. I geeked a little
8:57
It could just be a baseball reference I don’t get though lol
Dkk
9:00
@renard99: also, the same band that does a song in the anime Eureka 7 which I watched when I was like idk, 12
9:00
Yeah! They are pretty good. Three Out Change is an awesome J-rock record
Dkk
9:01
I will probably not listen to them more but fun fact. Really random to start the day. An omen that the waves will be very random today.
Dkk
9:03
Fuck, reading the wikipedia now. Literal last song they did before they broke up was Storywriter. Wow.
9:05
That one is a masterpiece
9:05
My favorite song by them is Recreation
glovediedthisishismom
9:05
snowing
Dkk
9:07
@renard99: man, hard to find.
Dkk
9:07
@glovediedthisishismom: Congrats on the snow.
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