Web resource:	http://www.lrc.justice.wa.gov.au/2publications/reports/homicide/P97-ch06.pdf
Type:	Report
Title:	Domestic violence and homicide
Other Titles:	Review of the law of homicide : final report
Authors:	Law Reform Commission of Western Australia
Keywords:	Homicide;Legislation analysis;Theories of violence
Year:	2007
Publisher:	Law Reform Commission of Western Australia
Notes:	Overview: This chapter of a review of the Criminal Code 1913 (WA) examines the law of homicide in Western Australia (WA) as it pertains to domestic violence and outlines changes to the law proposed by the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia (the Commission). The contention that there is a general lack of understanding domestic violence in the legal system underpins the review. Approximately one quarter of homicides in WA involve intimate partners. This chapter begins by outlining the nature and extent of domestic violence in Western Australia, including in Indigenous families. The available defences: self defence, provocation, lack of intention to do grievous bodily harm and diminished responsibility - are examined, and the problems with these defences for men and for women who kill violent partners are discussed. Particularly problematic is the fact that the test for self defence reflects male rather than female behaviour and that assumptions about the kinds of circumstances where lethal force is justified may not properly take into consideration domestic violence as a context for homicide. The chapter covers the ramifications of guilty pleas for homicide and discusses whether a separate defence for victims of intimate partner violence and domestic violence should exist and the necessity of this. ‘Battered Women’s Syndrome’, and the problems with this argument when used in the courts are discussed in this context. The Commission recommends that the trial judge be able to direct a jury on the application of the self defence test. The report also proposes that the rules of evidence be changed to reflect the fact that there are often no direct witnesses to domestic violence, and that often the victim has not made a police report or sought medical treatment. The proposed change in the definition of self defence could make the defence more available to women who kill in response to domestic violence. Recommendations are made regarding the use of expert evidence on the question of reasonableness in the context of domestic violence.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19745
ISBN:	9781740350587
Physical description:	vi, 337 p. ; 30 cm.
Appears in Collections:	Reports

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