2004] BATTERED WIFE SYNDROME 315

The Supreme Court and the Genosa Case: their partners, that is, their husbands, boyfriends and those with whom they
have a live-in relationship.•
Defining Battered Woman Syndrome
Neither is the Philippine culture immune from the traditional and
vis-a-vis Self-Defense in the Philippine Legal stereotypical notions of men and women. In fact, it is replete with double
standards in favor of the male gender, as well as marked differences in the
System treatment toward men and women.
.
Rosalyn C. Rayco
*
Men traditionally have been viewed as the protectors of women, and _
husbands specifically have been thought of as the protectors of their wives.· .
In recent years increasing attention has been given to the fact that these
I. I~ODUCTION •••••.••..•.•••.••.•.•.•...•••...•••• 3I4 stereotypical notions frequently do not comport with reality. Men often
abuse women, both physically and sexually. The man most likely to abuse a
II. THE CASE: People v. Marivic Genosa ......... ·. · · · · · · · · · · · .3I6
woman is her husband, and such abuse often results in serious physical
A. The Facts if the Case injuries or death. 2
B. The Issue
C. Tile Ruling of the Court When a woman is being battered by any significant person in her life,
D. The Reasoning if the Court numerous factors come into play, which make it difficult for the woman to
E. The Dissent avail of legal remedies. The woman often finds herself trapped in a cycle of
III. BATIBRED WoMAN SYNDROME (BWS) •....•• • • · · · · · · • • • · · 324 violence in which she does not know how to get out of, or why even try to
A. Understanding the Battered Woman Syndrome do so. The be)plessness of the situation, as well as the fear and shame of
B. BWS in Foreign Jurisprudence becoming a pariah in society added to the humiliation to her family, prevent
IV. REviEWING THE DEClSlON AND ITS IMPLICATIONS many women from speaking out against the violence being committed
oN THE TRADmoNAL NonoN of SELF-DEFENSE . . • . . . . . . • . · · 33 5 against them.
A. justifying and Mitigating' Circumstances Some women may even perceive the battering cycle as normal,
B. Jurisprudence especially if they grew up in a violent household.3 Other women become so
C. BWS according to Genosa demoralized and degraded by the fact that they carmot predict or control the
V. THE SUPERVENING LAw: R.A. 9262 ....... · . · · · · · · · · · · · · · 3~
violence, that they sink into a state of psychological paralysis and become
VI. CoNCLUSION ••.•••..••....••.•• · . · · • • • • • · · · • • • · • • · -34
unable to take any action at all to improve or alter the situation. 4 In addition
·io
to these psychological i"llpacts, external social and econo:nllc factors often
make it difficult for some women to extricate t.'lemselves from battering
I. INTRODUCTION
relationships. A woman without independent financial resources who wishes
Domestic violence, particularly the battering of women, is not uncomm~n to leave her husband often finds it difficult to do so because of lack of
in the Philippine household or society. }\.ccording to a survey_ c_ondu~t~~ m material and social resources.s
early 2004 by the Social Weather Stations, about 2.I6 million Filipmo
women or nine percent (9%) of women aged eighteen and ~ld~r, have
experienced physical abuse, with a majority saying the harm was mflicted by I. Maria Ceres P. Doyu, z Million Filipino women are battered, says survey, Jan. 24,
2004, available online at http:/ /www.inq7.net/nat/2oo4/jan/24/tesxt/nat_8-1-
p.htm (last accessed on Aug. 25, 2004).
2. Jimmie E. Tinsley, Criminal Law: The Battered Woman Defense, 34 AM. juR.
7

PROOF OF FACTS 2d I.
3· State v. Kelly, 97 N.J. 178, 194, 478 A.2d 364, 372 (1984); BATTERED WOMEN,
'o6 J.D. cand., Member, Boarc of Editors, Ateneo l.:lw journal. She co-a~th~red A PSYCHOSOCIOLOGICAL STUDY Of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 60 (M. Roy ed. I977);
The Davide Impeachment Case: Restating Judicial Supremacy Over ConstitutiOnal D. MARTIN, BATTERED WIVES 6o (1981).
Questions, 48 ATENEO LJ. 8o6 (2004) with ~at;icris C. Ang et ~L+ , 4· Kelly, 97 NJ. at 195-96, 478 A.2d at 372 .
. ¥· ·:;.

Cite as 49 ATENEO LJ. 314 (2004). 5· Id.

-&'