Women Who Kill: An Analysis of Legal Defences Used by Women Who Kill an Abusive Partner
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I'm an incoming 3rd year Law and German student in Trinity College Dublin.
My research centres on how the criminal justice systems responds to abused women who kill their abusive partners. The defences to a charge of killing are usually provocation, self-defence, and diminished responsibility/insanity. However, feminist legal theorists argue that these defences arise out of a typical male rather than female experience. Victims of domestic abuse who kill typically lack an obvious imminent threat of violence, which is required to use the legal defences, and instead are responding to a cycle of violent behaviour.
I want to understand how these women are treated in criminal justice systems, and how we can improve the law in this area.
I am passionate about improving equality and fair treatment in the legal system, as well as gender studies and criminology. I would love to get in touch if you are interested in any of these areas!
