The Battered Woman.

Battered women make up what is one of the most marginalized groups in society. Their relationship experiences sometimes bring these women into conflict with the law, especially when they kill their abusive partners. Battered woman syndrome was developed in the 1970's by a clinical psychologist and was created to describe the cycle of events that abused women often go through in their relationships. In Canadian law it is recognized in the context of other defenses, …

…this evidence, when taken together, may not form the most clear picture and may not go unchallenged as new cases and new practices will continue to be brought forward to court. However, some of the findings discussed do not indicate that the prosecution process and the Canadian criminal justice system in general have become more attentive or sympathetic to battered women who have come into conflict with the law since the changes made in Lavallee.