Battered Woman Syndrome: Navigating Defense Strategies in Criminal and Family Law Cases

Battered Woman Syndrome (“BWS”) a form of PTSD, is characterized by anxiety, hypervigilance, and learned helplessness. Battered women have suffered waves of abuse – including a three-phase cycle of tension building, violent outbursts by their attacker, and repeated reconciliations with their abuser. In criminal cases, BWS can support claims of self-defense by explaining the abused woman’s reasonable fear of imminent danger. In family law cases, BWS can impact custody decisions and divorce proceedings, particularly where there is evidence of coercive control not only of “mom” but of that abuse occurring in the presence of the parties’ minor children. Elisa Reiter’s…