BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME: THE JUSTIFYING

CIRCUMSTANCE IN CRIMINAL LAW

By: Melanie R. Boiser

Introduction
Domestic law recognises the weakness of women,
emotionally and physically. Likewise, the law also sees the
strength of women, thus invoking their rights and upholding
their role in the society. Where men excel, women also
contends. Provisions of statutes has seen the two blending
character of women in the society, the former needs
protection, the latter requires gender equality.
Protection is synonymous with defense. And women in
their own battle where the dominion of men are traditionally
present are threatened with the imminent danger of
violence. Thus the law extends its provision to afford
protection for women who are in this circumstance.
The Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children
Act of 2004 is the legislative act that addresses the human
rights violence against women [1].
The cycle of abuse
obtained by a woman from an abusive husband is a defense
that justifies her action when she killed the latter. The case
of Genosa [2] became an eye opener for legislature to enact
RA 9262 or VAWC Law to protect women from their abusive
partner.

GUANZON, MARIA ROWENA AMELIA, THE ANTI-VIOLENCE

AND WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ACT 2004, PAGE 148
1

G.R. No. 135981, January 15, 2004

Overview
The absence of unlawful aggression, there can be no selfdefense, complete or incomplete [3]. In the case of People of
the Philippines vs Marivic Genosa, killing her abusive
husband was inadmissible in the court, admitting selfdefense as justifying circumstances. The case was tried prior
to the enactment of RA 9262.
Defense as a justifying circumstance in the Revised Penal
Code has to have three requisites to make the act of the
person without criminal liability and civil liability. Prior to the
enactment of RA 9262, the only circumstance in criminal
procedure that a battered wife can avail of in the same case
of Genosa [4] is the mitigating factor under paragraphs 9 and
10 of Article 13 of the Revised Penal Code.
One of the questions often raised is why the abused wife
continues to live with her abusive husband or partner?
Cross-examining the accused-battered wife who committed
the crime of killing her husband would yield a guilty
reasoning of tolerating the violence, thus leading her to the
criminal act. But psychology reasons otherwise. The cycle of
violence or abuse is the reason often cited why women have
difficulty leaving abusive husband [5]. Domestic violence
aside from physical injuries the psychological injury also
suffers with a broad range of responses. And the latter
injury if not cured, may often lead to tragedy, if not the
death of the abused partner, the abusive partner will.
________________________________________________
3
4

Id
Id

Videback, Sheila L., Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing,

page 191
5

The Battered Woman Syndrome:

Justifying Circumstance

Self-defense, a justifying circumstance does not incur

criminal liability, under Art. 11 of the Revised Penal Code [6],
provided that the following requisites are present:
1. Unlawful Aggression
2. Reasonable Necessity of the means employed to
prevent or repel it; and
3. Lack of Sufficient Provocation on the part of the person
defending himself [7].
If there is no unlawful aggression, there would be nothing
to prevent or repel it. In that event, there can be no
defense, complete or incomplete. Where the unlawful
aggression which has begun no longer exists, the one
making the defense has no more right to kill or even wound
the former aggressor [8]. Considering the foregoing requisites
to justify an act, absence of unlawful aggression warrants no
one to inflict injury of the other party. But exemption to this
requisite is the cycle of violence characterizing the
relationship of the partners as a defense.

______________________________________________
BOADO, LEONOR NOTES AND CASES ON THE REVISED
PENAL CODE, PAGE 84
6

Id at 85

Ibid

A Typical Case
Mr. husband comes home drunk and demands from
Mrs. Wife a pleasure of her company in their matrimonial
bed. But Mrs. Wife decline because she is having her
menstrual period. Provoke by the reasoning of her wife and
because of intoxication he slapped her hard leaving the
latter black and blue from the bruises. The following
morning, she was surprised to see her son bringing her
roses and a broad smile from her husband cuddling her and
asking for forgiveness. She forgave because in her state of
mind, her husband was just drunk and does not intent to
cause harm. The following week though, he came home
drunk and aggressively force himself to Mrs Wife despite the
latters protest. And again he asked for forgiveness the
following day. Week after week the cycle of aggression,
physical violence not to mention the verbal abuse hurled
against Mrs Wife and loving cajoling after the violent
incidents by her husband torments her being. The anxiety
she experience leads her to believe that her husband is
capable of killing her. Thus on the uneventful day, after
seeing Mr husband drunk again, and after yielding to his
demands, he was still provoke by the Mrs wifes passive
action he hurled vicious words to Mrs wife. Believing that Mr
husband will eventually hurt her again, she run towards the
kitchen and took a knife as a defense. And Mr husband
mocking her action advance towards her, but she struck him
hard in the chest with a knife. It was the end of the abusive
cycle of violence. She was convicted of parricide.
The existence of Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) in a
relationship does not in itself establish a legal right of the
woman to kill her husband or partner.[9]

Id

But proving the existence of the three phases of

characterization of cycle of violence in order to prove self
defense will justify the act. These include the following:
(a)
(b)
(c)

Tension-building Phase;
Acute-battering incident; and
Tranquil, loving (or at least nonviolent) phase

[10]

During the tension-building phase, minor battering

occurs -- it could be verbal or slight physical abuse or
another form of hostile behaviour [11]. The woman in this
stage has a hindsight that it was her fault that cause the
tension, thus trying to pacify her partner or husband. But
the more she cajoles the feeling of his husband, the more
the man believes that he has dominance over his wife or
partner.
However the woman becomes detached from the reality
because of fear, thus unemotional. But the more she
becomes emotionally unavailable, the more the batterer
becomes angry, oppressive and abusive. Often, at some
unpredictable point, the violence spirals out of control and
leads to an acute battering incident. [12]
The acute battering incident is said to be characterized
by brutality, destructiveness and, sometimes, death. The
battered woman deems this incident as unpredictable, yet
also inevitable. During this phase, she has no control; only
the batterer may put an end to the violence. Its nature can
be as unpredictable as the time of its explosion, and so are
his reasons for ending it. The battered woman usually
realizes that she cannot reason with him, and that resistance
would only exacerbate her condition.[13]
At this stage, she has a sense of detachment from the
attack and the terrible pain, the final phase of the cycle of
violence begins when the acute battering incident ends.
During this tranquil period, the couple experience profound
relief. On the one hand, the batterer may show a tender
and nurturing behaviour towards his partner.[14]
________________________________________________
10

Ibid, 510

11

Id

13

Id

He believes that he will be able to amend the incident.

And because the woman accepts her back because she
believes that she will be able to reform her husband, the
loving and tender phase happens.
The illusion of absolute interdependency is wellentrenched in a battered womans psyche. In this phase,
she and her batterer are indeed emotionally dependent on
each other -- she for his nurturing behaviour, he for her
forgiveness. Underneath this miserable cycle of tension,
violence and forgiveness, each partner may believe that it is
better to die than to be separated.[14] The torment of false
hope that her husbands abusive attitude will stop has
actually build an anxiety which the woman was unaware of.
Eventually she is caught up with traumatic stress from the
cycle and a belief that his husband is capable of killing her.
Genosa Case: The Disparity
Unlawful aggression is the most essential element of
self-defense. It presupposes actual, sudden and unexpected
attack -- or an imminent danger thereof -- on the life or
safety of a person [15]. In the case of Marivic Genosa [16] the
essential requisite of unlawful aggression was absent in her
case. When she invoke the Battered woman syndrome as
her defense for her action, the court found the absence of
unlawful aggression because her husband was already
sleeping when she attack the latter. Imminent danger was
already absent when she killed her husband. The factual
experiences of Marivic Genosa failed to relate within the
clinical explanation of Battered Woman Syndrome by the
Psychiatrist.
Phases of Battered Woman Syndrome were present in
the marriage of Marivic Genosa. And the post-trauma
experience by Marivic [17] was clinically testified by a
psychologist. Yet they were not able to disregard the fact
that when Marivic lost her control she was already clouded
with remorse leading to the parricide.
________________________________________________
14

Supra Note, 2

15

Supra Note, 4

16

Id

17

Id
6

RA 9262, Section 26: Battered Woman Syndrome as a

Defense

Victim-survivors who are found by the courts to

be suffering from battered woman syndrome do not
incur any criminal and civil liability notwithstanding
the absence of any of the elements for justifying
circumstances of self-defense under the Revised
Penal Code.
In the determination of the state of mind of the
woman who was suffering from battered woman
syndrome at the time of the commission of the crime,
the
courts
shall
be
assisted
by
expert
psychiatrists/psychologists. [16]
In the case of Genosa it was tried prior to the
enactment of congress of RA 9262. Empathizing but basing
their decision with applicable provision of the Revised Penal
Code, absence of element of unlawful aggression in self
defense concluded criminal liability.
Excerpt from the Courts ruling on Genosa case, While
our hearts empathize with recurrently battered persons, we
can only work within the limits of law, jurisprudence and
given facts. We cannot make or invent them. Neither can
we amend the Revised Penal Code. Only Congress, in its
wisdom, may do so. [17]
After two months from the promulgation of the Genosas
case on March 27, 2004, RA 9262 took effect. Section 26 of
said law provides battered woman syndrome as a defense.

CAMPANILLA, MARLO BERMEJO, SPECIAL PENAL LAWS,

REPUBLIC ACT 9262, PAGE 42
16

17

Id

In Conclusion

There is nothing more tragic than to witness a happy

marriage gone sour and turns to a death of either camp. But
what is more tragic is to turn hindsight on the obvious
circumstances of a womans bout being disregarded when
she commits an attack against her abusive partner.
When all phases of Battered Woman Syndrome is
present yet the court finds a compelling reason that unlawful
aggression was already absent when she committed the act,
it is only mitigating prior to the enactment of RA 9262. But
when it is otherwise committed when unlawful aggression
was imminent, it is a justifying act liberating the woman
from the liability of crime.
The intent of congress when RA 9262 was enacted is to
protect women from injustice when psychology can explain
otherwise the intent of the woman when she killed her
batterer.
Psychology explains clinically the post-traumatic stress
and anxiety experience by a woman which triggers her act
where the three elements must be present in order to justify
her act. The intent of the law was neither bias nor
favourable to the women. For law must always stand on
Justice and Equality. Where women stand without justice
during her suffering in the hands of her abusive partner, she
can seek the bounds of RA 9262, for protection but not to
warrant her action to kill her husband, for doing so would
render injustice.

Bibliography

BOADO, LEONOR NOTES AND CASES ON THE REVISED

PENAL CODE, PAGE 84
Videback, Sheila L., Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, page
191
CAMPANILLA, MARLO BERMEJO, SPECIAL PENAL LAWS,
REPUBLIC ACT 9262, PAGE 42
G.R. No. 135981, January 15, 2004