Battered woman syndrome emerged in the 1990s from several murder cases in England in which

women had killed violent partners in response to what they claimed was cumulative abuse, rather
than in response to a single provocative act.

Battered woman syndrome, which is also sometimes called battered wife syndrome, is
considered a subcategory of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With battered
woman syndrome, a woman may develop a learned helplessness that causes her to believe she
deserves the abuse and that she can't get away from it.

BWS begins as an abusive cycle with three stages. First, the abuser engages in behaviors that
create relationship tension. Second, the tension explodes when the abuser commits some form of
abuse: physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, or otherwise. Third, the abuser tries to fix his
wrongdoing and apologizes. This third stage is frequently referred to as the "honeymoon" stage,
and involves the abuser making amends for his bad behavior. During the honeymoon stage, the
abuser is forgiven, and the cycle starts all over again.

As the cycle continues, the victim starts to feel that the abuse is her own fault. When the victim
takes responsibility for her own abuse, this develops into "learned helplessness." The victim feels
helpless because she has convinced herself that the abuse is her own fault, yet she cannot
understand why the abuse continues if it's her own fault. She becomes convinced of her
helplessness and that the abuse cannot be escaped, absent the most drastic measures. Thus is
borne the psychology of BWS.