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Monday, January 26, 2004
Editorial: A welcome development
FOR the first time in the country's judicial history, the Supreme Court used the Battered Wife Syndrome (BWS) defense in a case involving a woman who suffered years of maltreatment by an abusive husband.
In a 79-page decision, the High Tribunal junked the death term imposed by an Ormoc court on Marivic Genosa of Leyte for killing her husband and imposed a six to 14-year prison term instead. Genosa was also ordered released from prison if she has already served the minimum jail term.
Following are notable excerpts from that landmark ruling of the High Court:
"The existence of the syndrome in a relationship does not in itself establish the legal right of the woman to kill her abusive partner. Evidence must still be considered in the context of self-defense."
"Each of the phases of the cycle of violence must be proven to have characterized at least two battering episodes; the final acute battering episode preceding the killing must have produced in the battered person's mind an actual fear of an imminent harm from her batterer and an honest belief that she needed to use force in order to save her life at the time of the killing; and the batterer must have posed probable grave harm to the accused based on the history of violence perpetrated by the former against the latter."
"The cyclical nature and the severity of the violence inflicted upon Genosa resulted in cumulative provocation, which broke down her psychological resistance and natural self-control."
For all of us, particularly advocates of women's rights who espouse the prevention of wife-battering, the SC's decision is indeed welcome news. Domestic violence happens and some cases are not reported because the battered wife is afraid and she does not want her family to be the subject of ridicule or gossip.
But it is not only the wife who is the victim in a battering case but the children as well, who suffer psychological trauma, when they see their mother beaten black and blue. There are also instances when the children also get maltreated together with the mother.
With the SC's ruling, may it help minimize, if not stop, domestic violence from now on.
(January 26, 2004 issue)
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