Lenore Walker, author of The Battered Woman, states that battered woman syndrome, an “identifiable cluster of symptoms” present in women that were victims of long-term physical abuse, occurs in three distinct phases. These three phases, tension-building, acute battering, and contrition, define the “cycle of abuse” suffered by the female victim. (Costanzo & Krauss, 2015) This cycle of abuse typically leads to learned helplessness, the point in which a victim “becomes resigned to their suffering and fail to resist or leave their abuser”. (Costanzo & Krauss, 2015) Women suffering from battered woman syndrome typically display certain submissive characteristics as a direct result of the psychological trauma. Trial counsel will often use battered woman syndrome in trial to defend a female batterer’s killing of her significant …show more content…
Oftentimes, testimony from an expert on the syndrome is often excluded from trial, however, by a judge that acknowledges the “scientific validity of [battered woman syndrome], and a concern that expert testimony unfairly bolsters the credibility of the alleged victim.” (Costanzo & Krauss,