In the United States
"According to statistics compiled by the ACLU, women who kill their partners will spend an average of 15 years behind bars, while men who kill their female partners serve much shorter sentences, on average between 2 to 6 years. While most would agree homicide dictates a sizable prison stint, the question is, why are women being punished so much more harshly, especially when you consider this statistic: At least 90 percent of women in prison for killing men report having been abused by those men?"
https://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/in-the-news/women-serve-longer-prison-sentences-after-killing-abusers
Battered Woman Syndrome as a Legal Defense
‘‘Battered woman syndrome’’ (BWS) is a descriptive term that refers to a pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in abusive relationships. Battered women sometimes use physical force to kill their batterers. These women may be charged with a criminal offense. When women are charged with murder or manslaughter for killing their batterer, they often do not deny having committed the act, but rather claim the act was committed in self-defense. In some cases, battered women may claim that they were insane at the time of the killing. Evidence of BWS may be offered to substantiate the claims of self-defense and insanity. Therefore, there is no specific legal defense called ‘‘the BWS defense’’; rather, evidence about battering and its effects is offered to assist the jury in its determination of the guilt or innocence of the defendant based on the claims of self-defense or insanity."
Outline
I. Introduction
II. Definition of Battered Woman Syndrome
III. Battered Woman Syndrome as a Form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
IV. The Claim of Self-Defense
V. The Defense of Insanity
The Use of Expert Witness Testimony in Cases Involving Battered Women
VII. Legal Standards and Issues Concerning Expert Witness Testimony
VIII. Conclusion
Barbara Sheehan
Last year, Sheehan was acquitted of second-degree murder after having shot her husband, a retired police sergeant, 11 times in their New York home in 2008.
Sheehan testified that she had suffered repeated abuse during their relationship. The day she shot him, she said she had refused to go to Florida with him, angering him to the point that he threatened to kill her and pointed a gun at her head.
Hours later, while he shaved in her bathroom, she shot him, using two of his own guns.
CBC
CANADA
BWS has been a legal defense since 1990
"Despite being created to adapt the requirements of self-defence to include women’s experiences of violence more accurately, the BWS defence is not always easily applied in practice. Many juries view the case with one question in mind: “Why did she not just leave the situation or the abusive relationship?”
In some jurisdictions, there is still a legal duty to retreat: a threatened person cannot harm another in self-defence if she has a reasonable opportunity to remove herself from the situation. This stands in contrast with “stand your ground” and “castle” doctrines in some American states, whereby an individual is not required to retreat from an imminent threat but can defend himself and his property with any force necessary.
Neither of these requirements supports the battered woman’s position. While a man has the right to defend his family and property with lethal force, a woman must defend her reasons for not fleeing violence within the home. If she had an opportunity to flee, subsequent violence on her part might be viewed as an act of vengeance rather than an act of self-defence."
Battered woman syndrome: Graham Glancy, Marissa Heintzman, Adam Wheeler
Battered woman defense is reactive.
Citizens need to stand up-speak up and be proactive for women and teens
Women being proactive.
THIS IS BEING PROACTIVE
My hope is that all girls will learn these skills as teenagers.