Coerced into Crime: The Application of Battered Woman Syndrome to the Defense of Duress
![handle is hein.journals/wiswo9 and id is 71 raw text is: COERCED INTO CRIME: THE APPLICATION OF
BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME TO THE DEFENSE
OF DURESS
Meredith Blake*
I have learned [from my battering situation] that no one believes me
and that I cannot depend upon any outside help. All I have left is the
hope that I can get away before it is too late.
I have learned also that the doctors, the police, the clergy, and my
friends will excuse my husband for distorting my face, but won't forgive
me for looking bruised and broken. The greatest tragedy is that I am
still praying, and there is not a human person to listen.
My situation is so untenable I would guess anyone who has not
experienced one like it would find it incomprehensible. I find it difficult
to believe myself.'
I. INTRODUCTION
Abuse of women in cultures throughout the world, and in this coun-
try in particular, has been well documented.2 Battering of women is an
acute social problem in the United States,' and researchers estimate that
up to fifty percent of all women in this country will be battered at some
point in their lives.4 Nevertheless, the way in which repeated abuse affects
* J.D., University of California at Los Angeles, 1995. The author would like to
thank Fran Olsen for her helpful comments and suggestions which contributed to the writ-
ing of this article.
1. ELIZABETH A. STANKO, INTIMATE INTRUSIONS: WOMEN'S EXPERIENCE OF
MALE VIOLENCE 48 (1985).
2. An estimated four million women are battered each year. See STAFF OF SENATE
COMM. ON THE JUDICIARY, 102D CONG., 1ST SESS., VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: A
WEEK IN THE LIFE OF AMERICA 1, at 1501 (Comm. Print 1992). See generally, Terry
Davidson, Wifebeating: A Recurring Phenomenon Throughout History, in BATTERED
WOMEN: A PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2, 4-18 (Maria Roy ed.,
1977).
3. See People v. Romero, 13 Cal. Rptr. 2d 332, 336 (Cal. Ct. App. 1992) (In recent
years it has become apparent that BWS is a serious and prevalent problem infecting all
socioeconomic and religious groups.); Nancy Kaser-Boyd, Ph.D. & Steven R. Balash,
Battered Woman Syndrome and Other Subtypes of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder:
Strengths and Liabilities in the Courtroom, 19 CAcJ/FORUM 18, 19 (1992) (According
to the California Attorney General's Office, battering is the single major cause of physical
injury to women .. . .); Margo Cooper, Note, Duties and Enforcement Mechanisms for
the Rights of Battered Women, 16 SUFFOLK U. L. REV. 937, 938 n.7 (1982) (citing re-
search studies documenting pervasiveness of battering and abuse).
4. See LENORE WALKER, THE BATTERED WOMAN at xi (1979).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/wiswo9&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Coerced into Crime: The Application of Battered Woman Syndrome to the Defense of Duress
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