Stereotypes About Battered Women and Victim’s Self-Defense: Legal Implications

Abstract

Recent research on the practices of justice operators with women victims of intimate partner violence has evidenced the existence of gender stereotypes and gender-blind practices in the Spanish legal system (Albertín et al., 2020; García Jiménez et al., 2019, 2020), as well as the graves consequences that such practices imply for these women. In this context, the present study explored the existence of a battered woman stereotype and its variation when the victim defends herself from the abuser. An opportunity sample of 505 undergraduates of Law, Psychology and other studies from two Spanish universities assessed some personality characteristics of a woman after watching a 1-minute-long silent video. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three observation conditions (“control”, “victim” or “self-defense victim”), which differed in the previous information given about the target woman. The Principal Components Analysis reduced the information from the questionnaire to three dimensions: “brittleness” (α = .91), “positive” (α = .786), and “hostile” (α = .809). The MANOVA confirmed the battered woman stereotype and its modification when the victim reacts against the abuser in self-defense: in this case the attribution of brittleness decreases and the attribution of hostility increases. The type of academic training showed significant effects on the stereotype, this being more negative among Law students than among Psychology ones. Law students perceive the target woman in the “victim” condition more hostile and manipulator. As for the “self-defense” condition, Law students attribute less brittleness to the victim, and perceive her more manipulator and dangerous. The effect of the observer's gender on the stereotype is consistent with the previous literature. Implications for professional training and judicial practices are discussed.

Australia's Divergent Legal Responses to Women Who Kill Their Abusive Partners

“…This included two Queensland cases where psychiatrists testified under an expansive BWS framework . Although presenting evidence under BWS, the psychiatrists took an expansive approach that did not pathologize the defendant, but instead described the limited solutions available to women in leaving a violent relationship ( R v. Falls , 2010), or explicitly explained that the concept of BWS is not a psychiatric diagnosis ( R v. Irsliger , 2012) (see Douglas, 2012 ; Sheehy et al, 2014 ). In two cases, experts testified under the framework of social context evidence.…”

“…Drawing upon the various sources of data, this study examined and coded each case for their (a) legal outcomes , including the original charge laid, the method of resolution (i.e., guilty plea or trial), the conviction received (if any), the basis of the conviction, and the sentenced received. The study also coded (b) defendant characteristics previously found to impact on the legal treatment of abused women ( Douglas, 2012 ), such as their Indigenous status, whether they have a previous criminal history, and whether they had previously fought back. Lastly, the study also recorded (c) case characteristics likely to influence legal outcomes, including whether the case involved expert testimony or evidence, the immediate circumstances of the offence, the presence of alcohol or illicit drug use at the time of offence, and the method in which the defendant killed her abusive partner.…”

“…For instance, the key concept of learned helplessness supports the myth and misconception that abused women are victimized, passive, helpless and compliant (Stubbs & Tolmie, 2005;Tarrant et al, 2019). However, research has found that women who do not conform to this narrow stereotype are treated more punitively, including women who fight back, experience problems with alcohol or drug abuse, have a prior criminal history, or demonstrate autonomous behavior in other spheres of her life (Delgado-Alvarez & Sanchez-Prada, 2021;Douglas, 2012;Fitz-Gibbon & Vannier, 2017;Goodmark, 2008). This can create a particular barrier for Indigenous women and women of color who are excluded from stereotypical constructions of a "real" victim that typically reflect white, middle-class norms (Larance et al, 2019;Stubbs, & Tolmie, 2008).…”

Different Scripts, Different Casts: A Crime Script Analysis Indicating Intimate Partner Violence Is Not All the Same

“…At a broad level of analysis, this has the potential to influence policy and practice, particularly for first responders such as police. This protoscript also adds to the crime script literature by highlighting the methods used by victims to protect themselves or others during incidents and goes a little way in challenging stereotypes ( Delgado-Alvarez & Sanchez-Prada, 2021 ) including around victim agency and their ability to effectively manage their safety ( Nancarrow et al, 2020 ; Tolmie et al, 2018 ). This study includes additional information relevant to situational crime prevention by articulating the different methods used by offenders and victims, and the different intervention methods used.…”