The Battered Woman Syndrome and The Premenstrual Syndrome deny women's anger and aggression

This report discusses the Battered Woman Syndrome and Premenstrual Syndrome and how they can be used as a defense in court. It covers the legal remedies available and the challenges faced by battered women and women suffering from PMS in court. The report also discusses the symptoms of PMS that come under legal acceptance criteria and the evidence required to support the defense of diminished responsibility.

The Battered Woman
Syndrome and The
Premenstrual Syndrome deny
women s anger and
aggression

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
In 1970s, the battered women syndrome was first coined by American feminist psychologist
named Dr Lenore E. Walker that women are suffering from the physical and psychological
violence by their partner or abuser which is very traumatized and female who are victim of
partner violence by physically or mentally sometimes leading to criminal behaviour and commit
manslaughter in their self-defence (Kennedy, 2018). Premenstrual syndrome is occurring due to
hormonal changes during ovulation and a period. Common signs and symptoms of premenstrual
syndrome are depression, fatigue, mood swings, irritability etc. Due to having these hormonal
changes during menstrual cycle, it mainly affects the mood of the women and also influence the
bad emotion in women such as aggression, anger. Some women have to suffer from severe
premenstrual syndrome due to which they influence and also commit some serious crime. Due to
which they have to face some serious result. This report covers the discussion on battered women
syndrome and the premenstrual syndrome deny women anger and aggression through
criminology and defend of diminished responsibility.
MAIN BODY
Battered women syndrome (BWS) is refer to variable complex symptom of psychological
and physical injuries that are performed on women continuously abused by their partner, this
also known as battered wife syndrome or battered women syndrome. Battered women syndrome
is a condition of psychological disorder. In addition, this syndrome affects the female who has
been subjected to repeatedly abused by the batterers. Due to this, it leads to a female victim into
physical and mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, feeling of fear, coercive control
as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When women faced such type of syndrome or
assaulting by the men then that women uses legal arguments of diminished responsibility, self-
defence, insanity or dementia because that women are not mentally stable. As mentally unstable
battered women also use sometime physical power to kill their abuser. Such female can be
charged to criminal offence if that female victim committed manslaughter or murder for killing
their partner and then also claim that act was committed in their self-defence (Chan and
Sheridan, 2020). Battered women syndrome evidence may offered prove to claims of insanity
and self-defence. Therefore, this evidence is assist by jury members of court to resolve the
innocence or guilty of defendant victim based on claims of insanity or self-defence. Under the
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Act of Federal Violence Against Women in 2005 deliver the number of legal remedies which
includes abuse of dating violence, battered women, stalking, domestic violence and sexual
assault.
Premenstrual syndrome in women happen mainly in between ovulation and a period. In this
syndrome a women face mood swings, depression, aggression, irritability, anger and fatigue also.
Sometime due to of this syndrome women commits the serious crime. But if their lawyer can
prove that when the crime occur the women is suffering from the premenstrual syndrome and are
not responsible for that crime and it happen due to uncontrollable influence of PMS, then the
women are able to get free from all charges. Because PMS comes under a mental condition and
when a mentally disable person commit the crime that crime does not come under any legal issue
(Dutta, 2020). While not all symptoms of PMS come under legal acceptance criteria, so the
lawyer have to prove the presence of those symptoms in women that come under legal criteria to
save the female community from any legality. Proving those specific symptoms is not easy for
the lawyer and to prevent the women from any legality. Because PMS does not affect the
cognitive ability of the women. PMS suffering community mainly commit the crime due to loss
of control on anger. But only the loss of control on anger cannot use as an excused to save them
from their actions. At least they should be a little bit culpable for their crimes.
Defence of diminished responsibility was an important argue for the battered female who
murder their batterers as in defendant context and problematic to feature of provocation.
Moreover, it is very challenge-able for the battered female victim to defences against the person
was killed because under the charge of proof prosecution is to disprove it and charge of proof
falls down on rage which is based on the evidences to diminished responsibility. According to
the Chan's study in England, women defendants who has murder their batterers are probably to
success and by depending on diminished responsibility to decrease slaying conviction of
manslaughter or it can define as partially defending from murder (Scott and et. al., 2022). If
women are diagnosed with medical condition and suffering from mental health or abnormality
function that impair the ability of understanding, self-control or judgement and if that women
committed crime then it may manslaughter rather than slaying. In addition, coercive control is
applied in this case over the defendants on battered women syndrome. It shows that mental
health of battered women is infrequent, this condition identified that women murder their spouse
and in England battered female victim slays their abuser and evidence of expert shows that
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women are experiencing BWS of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or another similar
condition. Such evidence is often used for support of defence of diminished responsibility in
United Kingdom. On the other hand, England court described this syndrome to mental illness
and abnormality of mind for motive of defence of diminished responsibility (Walker, 2022).
There is only small range of women's those are suffering from severe type of PMS and also
got engage with crime of assault, manslaughter and arson. Only in those severe case of PMS, it is
acceptable as an excuse and able to diminished all the responsibility of the women related to that
crime that they committed. There are some signs of PMS that are mainly got connected with any
crime such as, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, depression, nymphomania and irritability. Although
having severe PMS to women still the lawyer has to prove that the women is not have any
intention to commit the crime or they are not aware that they were committing the crime.
Because the intention behind any crime matters the most for the court. If the lawyer is able to
prove that there is no intention of the defendant to kill someone or harm anyone, it happen under
the uncontrollable influence of premenstrual syndrome. Then lawyer can save the women from
punishment. Before that the PMS symptoms are evaluate under the criteria of insanity and
automatism by court. After evaluation the lawyer can submit the plea for diminished the all
responsibility of the women in context of the crime. In this case, court identify that the defendant
is really suffering from PMS and not mentally stable and not aware when committing the crime
by examining the all evidence (Taylor, and Dalton, 2019). If it was proven that the women are
suffering from PMS and not in control on the time of committing the crime, then only court can
have diminished the all responsibility of the women connected to the crime.
CONCLUSION
As per above report it is concluded that the Battered women syndrome and Premenstrual
syndrome is a mental condition in which sometime women loss their control under influence of
these syndrome and commit any criminal act. They can be saved from these crimes if the women
can prove that they were suffering from any of these syndrome on the time of crime they did. If it
can be proven, then the court diminished all the responsibility of the women related to that crime
and remove all charges that applied on women. Sometime some women try to use these disease
as an excuse in court also. Premenstrual syndrome and Battered women syndrome is one of the
mostly use excuse by the women in court to defend themselves. To avoid any unfair justice court
should perform proper investigation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Dutta, A., 2020. Premenstrual Stress (PMS) Syndrome as a Criminal Defence. Jus Corpus LJ, 1,
p.308.
Kennedy, H., 2018. Eve was shamed: How British justice is failing women. Random House.
Taylor, L. and Dalton, K., 2019. Premenstrual Syndrome: A New Criminal Defense?.
In Controversies in Criminal Law (pp. 163-179). Routledge.
Chan, H.C.O. and Sheridan, L.L., 2020. Psycho-criminological approaches to stalking behavior:
An international perspective. John Wiley & Sons.
Scott, S., Geffner, R., Stolberg, R. and Sirikantraporn, S., 2022. Common Characteristics of
Women Who Kill In the Context of Abuse: A Content Analysis of Case Files. Journal of
Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, pp.1-19.
Walker, L., 2022. Defending the Abused: A Critical Examination of the Defences Afforded to
Victims of Domestic Abuse Who Kill. Aberdeen Student L. Rev., 11, p.193.
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