Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Race, gender, and the battered woman syndrome: an Australian case study
Other Titles:	Canadian journal of women and the law
Authors:	Tolmie, Julia Stubbs, Julie
Keywords:	Cross-cultural;Representations of women;Legal issues
Year:	1995
Publisher:	University of Toronto, Faculty of Law
Citation:	8 (1), Winter-Spring 1995
Notes:	Examines the various ways in which the application of battered woman syndrome to the situations of women who do not conform to the white middle-class standard used in Walker’s classic study, can misrepresent a victim’s/defendant’s experience and reinforce, rather than challenge, a range of racial/sexual stereotypes and assumptions. The failure of feminist debates surrounding the use of battered woman syndrome to adequately address the issue of race and the ways in which racial and sexual prejudices can intersect to compound a woman’s experience of disadvantage within the legal system is highlighted and the case of R v Hickey, the first NSW Supreme Court case to accept evidence of battered woman syndrome (BWS), is used to illustrate an alternative reading of battered women’s responses to violence. Argues that, by recognising the significance of race and gender within the context in which women’s actions occur, it becomes unnecessary to construct them as passive and dependent, and that a more realistic and culturally appropriate portrayal of women’s experiences is possible.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/16468
ISSN:	0832-8781
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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