Self- Defense in the Light of Battered Women Syndrome

Today, thanks to the contribution of psychological concept of "Battered Women Syndrome" (BWS) and considering so called "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" (PTSD) anxiety disorder and its relationship with criminal behavior, most criminal justice systems adopt gender-based approach and also redefine the components of self-defense, which helps them explain why and how battered women resort to murder in response to sexual and psychological abuses imposed by their abuser husbands or partners. To understand how BWS as one of the subcategories of PTSD can justify criminal behaviors of battered women, dealing with the relationship between anxiety disorder and criminal behavior is necessary. Hence, the present paper proposes that first it is necessary to determine the concept of BWS and other related concepts, and then clarify the situations and role of this syndrome in a legal defense from psychological and sociological perspectives.