Battered Woman Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Today, despite the great advances and empowerment that women have acquired, the scourge of domestic violence continues to exist.
Thousands of women are abused and murdered at the hands of their partners every year. Violence is not only shown in the form of bruises and physical wounds, but also implies a deep psychological imprint. As a result of the behavioral and emotional symptoms shown by many women who have suffered from it, it has been proposed battered woman syndrome such as the psychopathology suffered by this group.
Although the concept behind this syndrome has been debatable, the truth is that it has had great importance in judicial processes of gender violence. Let’s look in greater depth at what this psychodiagnostic proposal consists of.
Battered woman syndrome is a proposal of psychological disorder that those women who have been victims of gender violence go through This syndrome has been related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in recent years it has been acquiring greater recognition, especially in the judicial field, especially in cases in which the woman, after years of suffering abuse, has murdered to your husband or boyfriend.
With gender violence, also called domestic by some sectors, we refer to any act of physical and emotional abuse normally produced in the home and perpetrated by a person who is part of the victim’s intimate or family circle. There are multiple consequences of this, manifesting feelings of sadness, anguish, fear and a high impact on life in general.
Although it is playing a very prominent role in the field of forensic psychology, it is not yet included in the DSM nor in the ICD, especially because there are many doubts about its validity as a real disorder. Regardless of whether or not an agreement is reached and a new diagnostic label is created to refer to this syndrome, it is well established that Years of physical and verbal abuse imply psychological problems in the person
Associated symptoms
Having suffered constant abuse leaves a deep mark on the woman’s entire psychic world, showing itself more clearly when it comes to relating to the rest of the world and functioning as an adult individual. The victim’s ability to respond to abuse decreases as it increases in frequency and intensity throughout the relationship. Over time, The woman becomes very passive, submissive, with very low self-esteem and a deep fear of displeasing her abuser
Nobody likes to be attacked or humiliated, however, despite not wanting to be mistreated, they end up believing that they really deserve it, that they are so bad as couples that their boyfriend or husband has no other alternative than to teach them through violence. . Thus, they feel totally guilty for the situation in which they are trapped. Women who are victims of this type of violence often feel tired and helpless in addition to suffering in a constant situation of panic.
All of this leads to a series of depressive and anxiety-type symptoms such as bad mood, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, as well as sleep problems, such as insomnia. In addition, other disorders may occur, whether mood disorders or disorders such as eating behavior, addictions and PTSD. They have very notable cognitive problems, such as lack of concentration, dissociation, distortion of their own body image, denial, pessimistic thinking…
cycle of violence
In order to understand in greater depth the battered woman syndrome and also understand the terrible situation they go through, it is necessary to understand the three main phases that make up the cycle of domestic violence, proposed by the American psychologist Lenore Walker
1. Accumulated tension phase
In this phase, the victim tries to negotiate with his abuser with the intention of calming him down. He believes that he can really make him change.
During this point in the relationship, the loss of contact with the victim’s group of friends begins.
At the same time, the violence, which although not yet physical, is beginning to increase in the form of loud voices and screams
2. Acute abuse phase
The accumulated tension comes to light in the form of attacks and sexual abuse. The abuser insults, humiliates and hits his partner.
3. Calm and reconciliation phase
After attacks, just like after a storm, calm comes. This phase has also been called ‘the honeymoon’.
In this phase, the abuser sees how his actions have contributed to the relationship being in danger, but to keep his victim trapped he convinces her that this was her fault, although he promises that it will not happen again and that everything will happen. It’s going to be fine. However, unfortunately, the cycle restarts, and these same phases occur again going further and further and with greater chances of the abused person killing their partner.
Related to the phases of the cycle of violence explained in the previous section, the phases that occur during the development of this syndrome are explained in more detail below.
1. Trigger
The first mistreatment already endangers the trust that the woman had towards her partner.
When this trust is broken, the idealized vision is also thrown to the ground that one had of their partner and the expectations placed on the relationship.
2. Reorientation
The woman, who is now a victim, tries to look for other references, however this is made difficult because the process has already begun by which her relationships will become increasingly diminished due to the control that will be imposed. make your partner over it.
He blames himself for the situation, in addition to enter a deep feeling of helplessness
3. Coping
Here you assume how your boyfriend or husband behaves and try to redirect the relationship without success.
4. Adaptation
The woman does not blame her abuser, but rather projects this feeling or guilt towards other people or oneself.
Recovery stages
Fortunately, and thanks to various therapies, it is possible for people who manifest battered woman syndrome to recover. At first it is a little difficult for her to come to terms with the idea that she is being a victim of abuse, and that this is not a situation from which she has no right to run away. With the passage of the following phases of recovery, little by little the woman sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
1. Denial
At first the woman refuses to admit that she is trapped in an abusive relationship, or even acknowledge that the relationship is not going well.
They usually make excuses for their partner’s violence, saying that it will not happen again or that it was a truly exceptional situation.
2. Guilt
At this point, the woman becomes aware that there is indeed a problem but she continues to believe that the blame falls on herself, not on the person who mistreats her.
She feels like she deserves to be treated this way because she really isn’t the woman she should be or she has done something wrong.
This is where you could say that she begins to raise her head, since she stops seeing herself as the culprit of the situation.
Despite this, he continues to believe that he must stay by his partner’s side because He still has hope that things can change
4. Responsibility
This is the final point to recovery because the woman sees that her husband or boyfriend is not going to change and that he has no right to do what he is doing to her.
She learns that she has to get out of the relationship no matter what, that the abuse will not end until she distances herself from the abuser and denounces him.
Treatments
As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, battered woman syndrome is not a disorder that is included in any of the two main diagnostic manuals within the field of psychology, although it is. It is used, especially in the United States, in trials about domestic violence and murder of the husband
However, there are a series of therapies that have been applied with the intention of reducing the symptoms associated with this diagnostic proposal. Let’s look at the two most notable ones.
1. Feminist therapy
From feminist therapy it is proposed to take into account during psychotherapy the structural elements of society that still cause gender differences to prevail
This, with respect to the syndrome explained here, aims to empower women to take an active role in denouncing their abuser, in addition to enabling the recovery process.
Furthermore, feminist therapy has been used to evaluate patients and be able to explain, in judicial terms, the syndrome resulting from the mistreatment suffered over several years.
2. STEP Program
STEP stands for “Survivor Therapy Empowerment Program”
This therapy, which has been empirically validated in clinical and prison populations, consists of the following twelve steps: 1: Define domestic violence 2: Overcome dysfunctional thinking and design a safety plan. 3: Think, feel and act. 4: Change towards positive thinking and control anger. 5: Stress control and relaxation practice. 6: The cycle of violence and the psychological effects of violence. 7: Post-traumatic stress disorder and battered woman syndrome. 8: Regret the end of a relationship. 9: Effects of domestic violence on children. 10: Learn to ask yourself what you want. 11: Establish healthy relationships. 12: End a relationship.
