The Abolition of the Rule that the Husband is the Head of the Household

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CHAPTER THREE SELECTED PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND THE DYNAMICS OF BATTERING THAT EXPLAIN AN ABUSED WOMAN’S CONDUCT IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP

INTRODUCTION

Kilpatrick states:Victimization can obliterate the most fundamental assumptions that people rely upon in order to function each day of their lives – that they are immune from harm; that events in this world are predictable and just; and that they are worthwhile, decent individuals.According to Boumil and Hicks, a ‘battered woman’ is one who has an intimate. relationship with a man who repeatedly uses physical or psychological coercion in order to force her to maintain the relationship.Allison and Martineau identify a general sixstage emotional and psychological decline that they claim is experienced by most battered and abused women.Phase 1 follows immediately after the assault: The victim experiences shock and terror, shock at the realisation that her partner was responsible for such aggression directed at her and terror as a reaction to the abuse. The researchers identify that in cases of sexual and emotional abuse, the victim may go through an overwhelming feeling of humiliation. There is also hope that the incident will not be repeated.This emotion of positive hopefulness is the basis for Phase 2, during which the victim makes every effort to appease the abuser, believing that her placatory acts will subvert any future violence. With the commission of the second incident of violence the victim proceeds to Phase 3, which is usually an attempt to reach out for help – either to family, friends, the justice system or women’s organisations. If the victim is unsuccessful in her effort to secure real aid (which is often the case) there is an increased fear, often accompanied by increased abuse. In Phase 4 the abused victim begins to view her life as being out of her control. Allison and Martineau are clear,though, that the victim’s feelings of powerlessness during this stage do not necessarily translate into passivity in the face of violence. ‘In fact, forty percent of female victims who experienced violence from their partner responded physically to protect themselves.’ They argue further that whilst it is quite reasonable for a person to feel entirely powerless to change his or her situation, in the face of a direct threat the same individual still has the capacity to resist.6 (This is a possible explanation toward understanding how the apparently helpless victim of abuse builds up the courage to eventually attack (and sometimes even kill) her abuser.) During Phase 4 the victim is still cognisant of the wrongful nature of her partner’s actions; however, in Phase 5 the victim begins to internalise the problem and see herself as being in the wrong. Martineau and Allison attempt to explain this change in belief as follows: All efforts at help have been useless and the victim begins to understand that the abuse is deserved.‘Once this state of self blame is reached, the victim can become numb and exhausted, … .’7 Arising from their research, Miller and Porter distinguish two kinds of self-blame: self-blame for causing the abuse and self-blame for tolerating the violence. In their study, they found that self-blame shifted along the duration of the violence. They noted that the less the woman blamed herself for causing the violence, the more she blamed herself for tolerating the abuse.8 However, they note, whichever stage she was in, the feeling of self-blame kept her captive in the relationship.9 Phase 6 is the last step in a victim’s response to a persistently abusive situation. During this phase, many abused women could present with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.10

THE BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME AND THE THEORY OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

3.2.1 Introduction
Leonore Walker published her research on battered women in the 1970’s and introduced the battered woman syndrome in her book The Battered Woman. 11 According to her findings, any woman who experiences a ‘battering cycle’ at least twice with the same man, and remains in the relationship, has become a battered woman.12. Researchers accept that it may be reasonable (but not necessarily acceptable) for a woman to find herself in a violent situation once. However, if after a second incident of abuse she continues to participate in the relationship, she is not only a battered woman but has also become the victim of a process known as battered woman syndrome.13 It is recognised that not all women who are battered by intimate partners will react in the same way, or even similarly to the violence. However, Douglas finds that those who do suffer from battered woman syndrome, typically, are less able to respond effectively to the violence against them

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INTRODUCTION 
INDEX
PART ONE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
CHAPTER ONE AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
1.1 INTRODUCTION 
1.2 AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
1.3 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA 
1.4 CHANGING ATTITUDES TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
1.4.1 The Effect of the Feminist Movement
1.4.2 The Evolving Human Rights Culture
1.4.3 The Abolition of the Rule that the Husband is the Head of the Household
1.5 CONCLUSION 
PART ONE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
CHAPTER TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ABUSER AND A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE AN ABUSED WOMAN’S DECISION TO REMAIN IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
2.1 INTRODUCTION 
2.2 THE ABUSER 
2.3 THE VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
2.4 PSYCHO-SOCIAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE AN ABUSED WOMAN’S DECISION TO REMAIN IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP 
2.4.1 Understanding Why Battered Women Remain In An Abusive Relationship
2.4.1.1 Sanctity of the Home
2.4.1.2 Relationship with the Criminal Justice System
2.4.1.2.1 The Police Service
2.4.1.2.2 The Domestic Violence Act, 1998
2.4.1.2.3 The Court System
2.4.1.2.4 Conclusion
2.4.1.3 Gender Stereotyping
2.4.1.4 Fear of the Abuser
2.4.1.5 Financial and Emotional Dependence
2.4.1.6 Hope and Love
2.5 CONCLUSION 
PART ONE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
CHAPTER THREE SELECTED PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND THE DYNAMICS OF BATTERING THAT EXPLAIN AN ABUSED WOMAN’S CONDUCT IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
3.1 INTRODUCTION 
3.2 THE BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME AND THE THEORY OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS 
3.2.1 Introduction
3.2.2 The ‘Cycle of Violence’ Theory
3.2.3 Learned Helplessness
3.2.4 Criticisms of the Theory of Battered Woman Syndrome
3.3 THE THEORY OF TRAUMATIC BONDING, PSYCHOLOGICAL ENTRAPMENT, AND DEPENDENCE 
3.4 THE THEORY OF SEPARATION ASSAULT 
3.5 WHY SOME BATTERED WOMEN KILL THEIR ABUSIVE PARTNERS 
3.6 CONCLUSION
PART TWO: SELF-DEFENCE
CHAPTER FOUR THE LAW OF SELF-DEFENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA
4.1 INTRODUCTION 
4.2 REQUIREMENTS OF SELF-DEFENCE 
4.2.1 Conditions Relating to the Attack
4.2.1.1 The Attack Must Have Been Unlawful
4.2.1.2 The Attack Must Have Been Directed Against an Interest Worthy of Legal Protection
4.2.1.3 There Must Have Been an Imminent Threat of an Attack or an Attack Not Yet Completed
4.2.2 Conditions Relating to the Defence
4.2.2.1 The Defence was Directed at the Attacker
4.2.2.2 The Defence Must be Necessary to Protect the Interest Threatened
4.2.2.3 There Must Be A Reasonable Relationship Between the Attack and the Defensive Act The duty to flee
4.3 THE TEST FOR SELF-DEFENCE 
4.3.1 A Consideration of the ‘Circumstances of the Accused’ and the Need For and Role of the Expert Witness in Cases Involving Domestic Violence
4.3.1.1 General Rules of Admissibility of Expert Evidence
4.3.1.2 The Need For and Use of Expert Evidence in Cases of Domestic Violence
4.3.1.3 The Nature of the Expert Evidence that Will Be Admitted in Cases of Domestic Violence
4.3.1.4 The Qualifications of the Expert in Domestic Violence Cases
4.4 CONCLUSION 
PART TWO: SELF-DEFENCE
CHAPTER FIVE THE LAW OF SELF-DEFENCE IN THE U.S.A.
5.1 INTRODUCTION 
5.2 SELF-DEFENCE 
5.2.1 Introduction
5.2.2 Conditions Relating to the Attack
5.2.2.1 The Attack Must Have Been Unlawful
5.2.2.2 The Attack Must Have Been Immediate/Imminent
5.2.3 Conditions Relating to the Defence
5.2.3.1 There Must Have Existed a Reasonable Belief that Such Force Was Necessary to Avoid the Danger
5.2.3.2 The Amount of Force Used Must Have Been Reasonable
5.2.4 A Consideration of the ‘Circumstances of the Accused’ and the Need For and Role of the Expert Witness
5.2.4.1 General Rules of Admissibility of Expert Evidence
5.2.4.2 The Need For and Use of Expert Evidence in Cases of Domestic Violence
5.2.4.3 The Nature of the Expert Evidence that Will Be Admitted in Cases of Domestic Violence
5.2.4.4 The Qualifications of the Expert in Domestic Violence Cases
5.3 CONCLUSION 
PART TWO: SELF-DEFENCE
CHAPTER SIX THE LAW OF SELF-DEFENCE IN CANADA
6.1 INTRODUCTION 
6.2 REQUIREMENTS OF SELF-DEFENCE 
6.3 CONSIDERATION OF THE ‘CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ACCUSED AND THE NEED FOR AND ROLE OF THE EXPERT WITNESS 
6.4 CONCLUSION 
PART TWO: SELF-DEFENCE
CHAPTER SEVEN THE LAW OF SELF-DEFENCE IN AUSTRALIA
7.1 INTRODUCTION 
7.2 THE REQUIREMENTS OF SELF-DEFENCE 
7.3 CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE ATTACK
7.4 CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE DEFENCE
7.5 CONCLUSION 
PART THREE: CONCLUSION
CHAPTER EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 INTRODUCTION 
8.2 THE ELEMENTS OF SELF-DEFENCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN LAW 
8.3 THE TEST FOR SELF-DEFENCE 
8.4 CONCLUSION 

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