Laws & Jurisprudence
BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME
6:17 PM
Refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse.
The battered woman syndrome is characterized by a “CYCLE OF VIOLENCE”, which is made up of three phases [People v. Genosa].
(1) First Phase: Tension Building Phase
a. Where minor battering occurs, it could be a verbal or slight physical abuse or another form of hostile behavior.
b. The woman tries to pacify the batterer through a show of kind, nurturing behavior, or by simply staying out of the way.
c. But this proves to be unsuccessful as it only gives the batterer the notion that he has the right to abuse her.
(2) Second Phase: Acute Battering Incident
a. Characterized by brutality, destructiveness, and sometimes death.
b. The battered woman has no control; only the batterer can stop the violence.
c. The battered woman realizes that she cannot reason with him and resistance would only worsen her condition.
(3) Third Phase: Tranquil Period
a. Characterized by guilt on the part of the batterer and forgiveness on the part of the woman.
b. The batterer may show a tender and nurturing behavior towards his partner and the woman also tries to convince herself that the battery will never happen again and that her partner will change for the better.
Four Characteristics of the Syndrome:
1. The woman believes that the violence was her fault;
2. She has an inability to place the responsibility for the violence elsewhere;
3. She fears for her life and/or her children’s life;
4. She has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.
In the determination of the state of mind of the woman who was suffering from battered woman syndrome at the time of the commission of the crime, the courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/ psychologists [SECTION 26, RA 9262]
BATTERED WOMAN
She is woman who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do something he wants her to do without concern for her rights.
Battered women includes wives or women in any form of intimate relationship with men.
Furthermore, in order to be classified as a battered woman, the couple must go through the battering cycle at least twice. Any woman may find herself in an abusive relationship with a man once. If it occurs a second time, and she remains in the situation, she is defined as a battered woman. (People v. Genosa, G.R. No. 135981, Jan. 15, 2004)
Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) can be used as a defense.
Victim‐survivors who are found by the courts to be suffering from battered woman syndrome do not incur any criminal or civil liability notwithstanding the absence of any of the elements for justifying circumstances of self‐ defense under the RPC.
In layman’s terms, if an abused woman kills or inflict physical injuries on her abusive husband or live‐in partner, once the trial court determines that she is suffering from the “Battered Woman Syndrome,” the court will declare her not guilty (People v.Genosa).
The law now allows the battered woman syndrome as a valid defense in the crime of parricide independent of self defense under the RPC. (Sec. 26)
It is worthy to note that in the determination of the state of mind of the woman who was suffering from battered woman syndrome at the time of the commission of the crime, the courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/ psychologists.
A female employee who is a victim of violence (physical, sexual, or psychological) otherwise known as battered woman is entitled to a paid leave of 10 days in addition to other paid leaves. (R.A. 9262, Anti‐ VAWC Act)
RELATED: ANTI-VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ACT (R.A. 9262)
DISCLAIMER: The author is not lawyer nor an authority on this topic. It is a product of humble research and study of law. It should not be used as sole basis in filing a case, instead, consult your lawyer for proper legal advice.
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