A proposal to radically change the legal concept of the "reasonable man standard" in order to better protect women from violence and other injustices.

A collection of previously published articles.

A man murders his wife after she has admitted her infidelity; another man kills an openly gay teammate after receiving a massage; a third man, white, goes for a jog in a “bad” neighborhood, carrying a pistol, and shoots an African American teenager who had his hands in his pockets. When brought before the criminal justice system, all three men argue that they should be found “not guilty”; the first two use the defense of provocation, while the third argues he used his gun in self-defense. Drawing upon these and similar cases, Cynthia Lee shows how two well-established, traditional criminal law defenses—the doctrines of provocation and self-defense—enable majority-culture defendants to justify their acts of violence. While the reasonableness requirement, inherent in both defenses, is designed to allow community input and provide greater flexibility in legal decision-making, the requirement also allows majority-culture defendants to rely on dominant social norms, such as masculinity, heterosexuality, and race (i.e., racial stereotypes), to bolster their claims of reasonableness. At the same time, Lee examines other cases that demonstrate that the reasonableness requirement tends to exclude the perspectives of minorities, such as heterosexual women, gays and lesbians, and persons of color. Murder and the Reasonable Man not only shows how largely invisible social norms and beliefs influence the outcomes of certain criminal cases, but goes further, suggesting three tentative legal reforms to address problems of bias and undue leniency. Ultimately, Lee cautions that the true solution lies in a change in social attitudes.

This book presents an informed, coherent and stimulating analysis of UK legal defences of homicide by victims of domestic abuse. Women killing following domestic abuse from a male partner is a significant category of homicide. In some areas of the UK it represents the most common context in which women kill. Yet, despite its significance, it is an aspect of homicide that remains under-researched within a UK context. Much of what is known about cases of this type comes from other jurisdictions. This book brings together a coherent understanding of the UK landscape in this area. It builds upon existing literature, particularly from the US, which has examined this issue from a practical perspective, using the lived experiences of practitioners involved in cases of this type. The collection combines the experiences of those in practice with academic expertise, pointing to potential sites of injustice that exist in this context and offering suggestions for reform. The volume will be a valuable guide for those involved in cases of this nature whilst also offering insight to those academics with an interest in homicide and legal responses to domestic abuse. The book will also be of interest to those working in the area of comparative criminal justice.

Why are we so reluctant to believe that women can mean to kill? Based on case-studies from the US, UK and Australia, this book looks at the ways in which female killers are constructed in the media, in law and in feminist discourse almost invariably as victims rather than actors in the crimes they commit. Morrissey argues that by denying the possibility of female agency in crimes of torture, rape and murder, feminist theorists are, with the best of intentions, actually denying women the full freedom to be human. Case studies cover among others the battered wife, Pamela Sainsbury, who garrotted her husband as he slept, the serial killer, Aileen Wournos, who killed seven middle-aged men in Florida between 1989 and 1990, Tracey Wiggington, the so-called "lesbian vampire killer", and Karla Homolka who helped her husband kill two teenage girls in St. Catherines Ontario in 1993.

The Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence is a modern reference from the leading international scholars in domestic violence research. This ground-breaking project has created the first ever publication of an encyclopedia of domestic violence. The primary goal of the Encyclopedia is to provide information on a variety of traditional, as well as breakthrough, issues in this complex phenomenon. The coverage of the Encyclopedia is broad and diverse, encompassing the entire life span from infancy to old age. The entries include the traditional research areas, such as battered women, child abuse and dating violence. However, this Encyclopedia is unique in that it includes many under-studied areas of domestic violence, such as ritual abuse-torture within families, domestic violence against women with disabilities, pseudo-family violence and domestic violence within military families. It is also unique in that it examines cross-cultural perspectives of domestic violence. One of the key special features in this Encyclopedia is the cross-reference section at the end of each entry. This allows the reader the ability to continue their research of a particular topic. This book will be an easy-to-read reference guide on a host of topics, which are alphabetically arranged. Precautions have been taken to ensure that the Encyclopedia is not politically slanted; rather, it is hoped that it will serve as a basic guide to better understanding the myriad issues surrounding this labyrinthine topic. Topics covered include: Victims of Domestic Violence; Theoretical Perspectives and Correlates to Domestic Violence; Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Religious Perspectives; Understudied Areas within Domestic Violence Research; Domestic Violence and the Law; and Child Abuse and Elder Abuse.

"This is an excellent book, written by the foremost authority in the field. [It] is easy to read and does a nice job integrating theory and research." Score: 95, 4 stars --Doody's Walker's seminal, groundbreaking book The Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) has forged new directions in the field of domestic violence for over 30 years. Now, the highly anticipated, third edition offers thoroughly updated and revised research on key topics, including posttraumatic stress disorder, learned helplessness or learned optimism, the cycle theory of violence, and much more. This third edition presents updated data generated from the newly modified Battered Woman Syndrome Questionnaire (BWSQ). With a new focus on culture and ethnicity, these data detail the experiences of foreign women who either live in their country of origin or the U.S. Like its popular predecessors, this new edition serves as a valuable resource for both professional counselors and students studying domestic violence. Discussions on the revised criteria for the BWS and PTSD: Posttraumatic stress and re-experiencing the trauma High levels of anxiety and arousal Emotional numbing, avoidance behaviors, and depression Disrupted interpersonal relationships Distorted body image and physical illnesses Sexual issues, including feelings of guilt, shame, and jealousy Key topics discussed: Attachment issues for battered women and the men who batter them Substance abuse and addiction Risk factors for further abuse Women in prison and battered women who kill their abusive partners in self-defense The Survivor Therapy Empowerment Program (STEP) which helps women better understand how the violence has impacted their lives

The Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence is a modern reference from the leading international scholars in domestic violence research. The first ever publication of an encyclopedia of domestic violence, the principal aim of this title is to provide information on a variety of traditional and breakthrough issues in this complex phenomenon.

This thoroughly revised second edition is an examination of domestic violence from social, legal, and historical perspectives. Domestic Violence: A Reference Handbook provides straightforward and objective coverage that considers all aspects of the issue through a careful combination of facts, statistics, case studies, and victims' stories. This volume in ABC-CLIO's Contemporary World Issues series examines the causes and historical roots of domestic violence, providing the facts and analyses to foster a better understanding. The work analyzes the complex dynamics of domestic violence from three perspectives—legal, social, and psychological. This reference is an important source of information for those touched by domestic violence and for those seeking to understand it.