Walking in Her Shoes: Battered Women Who kKll in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland

Alternative Law Journal, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 132-137, 2010

6 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2011 Last revised: 5 Dec 2012

See all articles by Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

University of Canberra – Faculty of Law; ANU College of Law

Patricia L. Easteal

University of Canberra Law School

Date Written: 2010

Abstract

In the light of the common law doctrine of self-defence in Australia, this article considers legislative reforms in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland to determine the extent to which they require judges and jurors to walk in the shoes of battered women in pursuit of an evaluation of reasonableness. It will be argued that, with the exception of Queensland, which has emphasised the necessity to judge reasonableness from the perspective of the battered woman only in so far as this may enable a verdict of murder to be reduced to manslaughter, the reforms have clarified or extended the common law position.

Keywords: battered women who kill, self-defence, provocation, law reform

JEL Classification: K00, J70

Suggested Citation

Hopkins, Anthony and Easteal, Patricia L., Walking in Her Shoes: Battered Women Who kKll in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland (2010). Alternative Law Journal, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 132-137, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1743874

Anthony Hopkins

University of Canberra – Faculty of Law ( email )

Australia

ANU College of Law

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

Patricia L. Easteal (Contact Author)

University of Canberra Law School ( email )

Australia

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