battered woman
Spouse abuse survivor
A battered woman is a woman subjected to repeated physical abuse, typically by a husband or intimate partner.
The term emerged in the 1970s alongside growing awareness of domestic violence as a social problem.
Battered woman syndrome describes psychological patterns—learned helplessness, fear, trauma bonding—that may explain why victims stay with abusers or eventually retaliate.
The legal concept has been used as a defense in cases where abuse victims kill their abusers.
- bruisedInjured beneath skin
- black eyeBruised tissue around socket
- shelterProtected place or structure
- victimOne harmed by another
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
broken bones · domestic · violence · cycle of abuse · walking on eggshells · scared · escape · trauma · hiding · fear · learned helplessness · hospital · broken · helpless · police · pressing charges · protective order · restraining order
- SyndromesDown syndrome, Stockholm syndrome, metabolic syndrome, Tourette syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome
- shelter seekershomeless person, homeless veteran, rough sleeper, street person, displaced person
battered womanabuser
One who mistreats others
batterer · perpetrator · domestic abuser · wife beater · aggressor
batter, battering, battered, batters, woman, women, womanly, womanhood, womanish