Criminal Law Reading Assignment

Battered wife syndrome

Definition| Elements:

A battered woman is a woman [People of the Philippines V. Marivic Genosa G.R. No. 135981, 15
January 2004, En Banc (Panganiban, J.)]:

ELEMENTS:
 Wives or women in any form of intimate relationship with men;
 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;
 In order to be classified as a battered woman, the couple must go through the battering
cycle at least twice.

Other definitions:

Battered wife syndrome has been defined as a symptom complex in which a woman has
received deliberate and repeated (more than three times) demonstrable injury from
her husband, the minimal injury being severe bruising. [ PARKER B, SCHUMACHER DN: The batteredwife
syndrome and violence in the nuclear family of origin: a controlled pilot study. Am J Public Health 1977;67: 760-761]

Historical Basis

 Derived from psychologist Lenore Walker's Battered Woman Syndrome in the late
1970’s 0to explain domestic violence.

 A theory of multiple victimization, BWS used the "cycle of violence" and learned
helplessness to explain the development of a psychological problem in women who are
repeatedly abused by their husbands.

 BWS later entered the legal realm when Walker began giving expert testimony about
BWS at trials of women accused of killing their abuser.

 Eventually, as part of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, (US) congress
mandated a report on BWS's role in the courtroom, including its validity and usefulness.
The report, The Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in
Criminal Trials rejected Walker's syndrome terminology, saying the term "does not
adequately reflect the breadth or nature of the scientific knowledge now available"
(Rothenberg 781).

 Despite its official rejection by (US) Congress, BWS is still sometimes invoked in
criminal proceedings.
Cycle of “Battered Wife Syndrome”

TENSION
ACUTE BATTERY
BUILDING

HONEYMOONE
PHASE

TENSION-BUILDING:
 minor battering occurs, either verbal or physical or other form of hostile behavior;
 woman usually tries to pacify the batterer through a show of kind, nurturing behavior or
by simply staying out of his way.
 woman wishes to prevent the escalation of the violence exhibited by the batterer by
“placatory” and passive behavior ( legitimizes his belief that he has the right to abuse her
in the first place)
 verbal and/or physical abuse worsens (each partner senses the imminent loss of control)
and the growing tension and despair
 exhausted from the persistent stress, the battered woman soon withdraws emotionally;
 But the more she becomes emotionally unavailable, the more the batterer becomes;
angry, oppressive and abusive. Often, at some unpredictable point, the violence “spirals
out of control” and leads to an acute battering incident.

TENSION BUILDING. The batterer’s tolerance of the victim’s behavior is decreasing. There is an
increase in the arguments, complaints and stony silence from the batterer. Minor battering
incidents may occur at this phase.

ACUTE BATTERY:
 Characterized by brutality, destructiveness and sometimes, death.
 Woman has no control; only the batterer may put an end to the violence.
  Woman realizes cannot reason with him, and that resistance would only exacerbate her
condition.
 At this stage, she has a sense of detachment from the attack and the terrible pain,
although she may later clearly remember every detail.
 Her apparent passivity in the face of acute violence may be rationalized
 ACUTE BATTERY. Shortest yet most violent phase. Often begins with the batterer justifying his/her
The batterer is almost always much stronger physically, and she knows from her past
own actions by “teaching victim a lesson”. However, in the end of the incident, the batterer cannot
painful experience that it is futile to fight back.
understand what happened since rage had taken over his behavior. During this phase victim feels
that her only option is to find a SAFE PLACE to hide from the batterer. The beating is severe and
help is only sought if injury or victim fears for her life or the life of her children.

HONEYMOON:
 Tranquil period, the couple experience profound relief;
 batterer may show a tender and nurturing behavior towards his partner; (he knows that he
has been viciously cruel and tries to make up for it, begging for her forgiveness and
promising never to beat her again – “undoing”)
 woman tries to convince herself that the battery will never happen again; that her partner
will change for the better; and that this “good, gentle and caring man” is the real person
whom she loves.
 A battered woman usually believes that she is the sole anchor of the emotional stability of
the batterer. Sensing his isolation and despair, she feels responsible for his well-being.
The truth, though, is that the chances of his reforming, or seeking or receiving
professional help, are very slim, especially if she remains with him. Generally, only after
she leaves him does he seek professional help as a way of getting her back. Yet, it is in
this phase of remorseful reconciliation that she is most thoroughly tormented
psychologically.
 she and her batterer are indeed emotionally dependent on each other -- she for his
nurturant behavior, he for her forgiveness. Underneath this miserable cycle of “tension,
violence and forgiveness,” each partner may believe that it is better to die than to be
separated. Neither one may really feel independent, capable of functioning without the
other. (learned dependency)

HONEYMOON. Batterer becomes increasingly loving, attentive and kind and seemingly patient. He
begs for her FORGIVENESS and swears the battering will never occur again. The batterer is afraid
that the victim will leave her so he charms his way in order to prevent this and uses the victim’s
guilt feelings. The victim then relives her dreams of ideal love and chooses to believe the batterer’s
promises.

BWS in Philippines:
Battered wife syndrome defense a first in RP courts
Posted: 1:13 AM (Manila Time) | Jan. 25, 2004

By Rina Jimenez David

Inquirer News Service

Legal precedent

The Supreme Court decision sparing Marivic Genosa from the death penalty on the ground that she was suffering from the
"battered wife syndrome" sets a legal precedent whose impact goes beyond cases of parricide or even domestic violence.

Genosa was convicted and sentenced to death in 1998 by a lower court in Ormoc City for the 1995 killing of her husband,
Ben. In a novel maneuver, women's rights lawyer Katrina Legarda appealed the case to the high court in 1999, using the
"battered wife syndrome" defense, a first in the history of Philippine jurisprudence. As argued by Legarda, who
volunteered her services to Genosa, the "battered wife syndrome" describes women who, after years of constant physical
and mental abuse, develop a deep fear of their abusive spouses or partners, feeling their lives constantly threatened.

In Genosa's case, far from using "treachery" in bashing her husband in the head with a steel pipe while he lay in a drunken
stupor, as the lower court found, Genosa could be said to have been merely employing self-defense, protecting herself and
her children -- she was pregnant at the time -- from more abuse. In 2000, the Supreme Court accepted the "battered wife
syndrome" as a mitigating circumstance in the crime and returned Genosa's case to the Ormoc regional trial court.

It recommended that the lower court consult clinical psychologists to better assess Genosa's state of mind at the time of
her husband's killing. The Ormoc City court, after having Genosa examined by two clinical psychologists, submitted the
testimony to the high court en banc which on Jan. 15 handed down its decision.

Reduced sentence

The high court affirmed Genosa's conviction for parricide but reduced her sentence from 14 to six years. The high court
then ordered Genosa released for time served. The landmark decision was penned by Associate Justice Artemio
Panganiban. The "battered wife syndrome," especially when corroborated by mental health professionals, could thus be
used in the legal defense of women in similar circumstances as Genosa.