BATTERED WIFE SYNDROME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Battered Wife Syndrome and Criminal Justice

Battered Woman Syndrome

The battered woman syndrome, defined by Walker and Dutton is defined as an adaptation to the aversive situation characterized by increasing a person's ability to cope with adverse stimuli and to minimize the pain, and cognitive distortions present, such as minimizing, denial or dissociation of the change in the way of seeing themselves, others and the world. They may also develop symptoms of PTSD, depressive feelings, anger, low self-esteem, guilt and resentment, and often have somatic complaints, sexual dysfunction, addictive behaviors and difficulties in their relationships (Bauman 2000).

Enrique Paz del Corral Echeburúa and equate these effects by post-traumatic stress disorder whose symptoms and characteristics, no doubt, appear in some of these women: re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of situations associated with abuse and increased arousal. These women find it difficult to sleep with nightmares of reliving the past, are constantly alert, hyper vigilant, irritable, and difficulty concentrating. In addition, the high level of anxiety causes health problems and psychosomatic disorders and major depressive problems may occur (Braithewaite 2000).

Treatment

In many cases intervention is necessary after that woman undergoes a period of reflection and perhaps several attempts to leave the violent relationship, with or without therapeutic help, to take the final decision. Thereafter, counseling will focus on several aspects, assessing the needs and demands before the individual patient.

We will evaluate what has been the practical consequences left by the situation prevailing in that person, and graduates to establish an order for treatment (Carr 2006).

Some of the most common and basic interventions for recovery are:

Information about domestic violence, causes and origins, myths, etc.

Activation and reduction of anxiety in the ways it manifests (insomnia, agoraphobia, panic attacks, etc).

Promoting autonomy, both at a purely psychological level, through a change of distorted ideas about herself and the world as a social, economic, etc, is targeted in the search for employment, social and family supports recovering.

Characteristics of Learned Helplessness

Repetitive abuse of women decreases their ability to respond, it becomes submissive. His personality becomes passive.

The cognitive ability to perceive the change in women's success. She does not believe that their response will bring positive results, they are or not.

The battered woman will not believe anything she does will alter the future or their destiny.

The sense of emotional well-being becomes precarious and becomes more prone to depression and anxiety. 

Cycle of Abuse Theory Victimization prevails due to the cycle of violence (Duffee 2000). Test the theory that abuse is not random or constant, which occurs in cycles rather repetitive, consisting of three phases, which could have a time lag of some months:

Cumulative Phase Voltage - The victim tries to calm her assailant, shows understanding, making reasoning about helping or kept silent to calm down. It goes away without realizing their support group, friends and family. Try to be nice, passive, withdrawn and strives to do things as the aggressor you like or you pleased. The buildup of tension starting to build with certain episodes of verbal abuse and voice rises, they become more frequent, when you ...