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The battered woman defense is a defense used in court that the person accused of an assault/murder was suffering from ''battered person syndrome'' at the material time. Because the defense is most commonly used by women, it is usually characterised in court as ''battered woman syndrome'' or ''battered wife syndrome''. There is currently no medical classification for this specific syndrome in the sense used by lawyers, though it has historically been invoked in court systems. Similar to an insanity plea, battered person syndrome is purely a legal term used to refer to the severe psychological trauma caused by domestic abuse. Although the condition is not gender-specific, the admission of evidence regarding battered woman syndrome as relevant to the defense of self-defense is commonly understood as a response by some jurisdictions to male favorable gender-bias in the criminal justice system. Thus, this is a reference to any person who, because of constant and severe domestic abuse usually involving physical abuse or threats of physical abuse by a partner, may become severely depressed or unable to take any independent action that would allow him or her to escape the abuse. Usually the victim's fears are based in reality, as she may lack the social support, financial means, or may be too physically or emotionally disabled to survive on her own. Victims may have low self-esteem, suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, and are often led to believe that the abuse is their fault, that they deserved it, and, due to misplaced feelings of loyalty, or fear of retaliation from their abuser, may be unwilling to press charges against their abuser. There is consensus in the medical profession that abuse often results in PTSD The law makes reference to a psychological condition,〔(As ICD9 code 995.81 Battered person syndrome NEC )〕 even though neither the DSM nor the ICD medical classification guides as currently drafted includes the syndrome in the sense used by lawyers. ==The law== The courts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States have accepted the extensive and growing body of research showing that battered partners can use force to defend themselves and sometimes kill their abusers because of the abusive and sometimes life-threatening situation in which they find themselves, acting in the firm belief that there is no other way than to kill for self-preservation. The courts have recognized that this evidence may support a variety of defenses to a charge of murder or to mitigate the sentence if convicted of lesser offenses. Again, ''battered woman syndrome is not a legal defense'', but may legally constitute: *Self-defense when using a reasonable and proportionate degree of violence in response to the abuse might appear the most appropriate defense but, until recently, it almost never succeeded. Research in 1996 in England found no case in which a battered woman successfully pleaded self-defense (see Noonan at p198). After analysing 239 appellate decisions on trials of women who killed in self-defense in the U.S., Maguigan (1991) argues that self-defence is gender biased. *provocation; *insanity (usually within the meaning of the M'Naghten Rules); and *diminished responsibility. However, in 1994, as part of the Violence Against Women Act, the United States Congress ordered an investigation into the role of battered woman syndrome expert testimony in the courts to determine its validity and usefulness. In 1997, they published the report of their investigation, titled ''The Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in Criminal Trials''. “The federal report ultimately rejected all terminology related to the battered woman syndrome…noting that these terms were ‘no longer useful or appropriate’” (Rothenberg “Social Change” 782).〔Rothenberg, Bess. “’We Don’t Have Time for Social Change’ Cultural Compromise and the Battered Woman Syndrome.” Gender and Society Oct. 2003:771-87. 〕 Instead of using the term "battered woman", the terminology “battering and its effects” became acceptable. The decision to change this terminology was based on a changing body of research indicating there is more than one pattern to battering and a more inclusive definition was necessary to more accurately represent the realities of domestic violence. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battered woman defense」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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