NCJ Number
111602
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1988) Pages: 29-41
Date Published
1988
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Because mental health professionals are becoming increasingly called to give expert testimony about the emotional and mental status of battered women on trial for injuring or killing their batterers, it is critical that they understand the dynamics of the battering relationship and the techniques for evaluation and testifying.
Abstract
Women continue to remain in battering relationships because of financial dependency, emotional dependency, fear, lack of outside supports, victim-blaming, and immobilization resulting from shame and humiliation. Battering is cyclical and escalates over time. As the frequency and intensity of violent episodes increase, the victim develops a series of adaptations, termed battered woman's syndrome, that is characterized by feelings of isolation and powerlessness, extreme subservience and passivity, belief in the omnipotence of the batterer, hypervigilance, emotional disturbance, and physical symptoms. In cases where a plea of self-defense is entered, the expert witness is called upon to apprise the court of the defendant's state of mind and the dynamics of battering. In evaluating the defendant, medical records should be obtained, a history of the relationship and the abuse should be elicited, and the critical incident should be explored in detail. Close attention should be paid to the defendant's affect and level of fear. Psychological tests and interviews with others who knew of the abuse may aid in evaluations. During direct and cross-examination, the expert's demeanor should be professional. 28 references.