Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Battered-Wife Syndrome: A condition that affects women who have suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their spouse or 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. Sometimes, it is used as a defense for women who have killed their abuser.
Battered-wife syndrome is a medical and psychological condition that affects women who have suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their spouse or partner. It is also known as battered-woman syndrome or battered-spouse syndrome.
The syndrome was first described in the 1970s by Dr. Lenore Walker. It consists of a three-stage cycle of violence:
Battered-wife syndrome is sometimes used as a defense to justify or mitigate a woman's killing of her abuser.
For example, if a woman is being physically abused by her husband and she kills him in self-defense, she may use battered-wife syndrome as a defense in court. The defense argues that the woman was suffering from a psychological condition that made her feel trapped and helpless, and that she acted out of fear for her life.