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Introduction

Battered Woman Syndrome also known as Battered Person Syndrome,

developed by psychotherapist Lenore Walker in the late 1970’s is a psychological

condition that can result when a person experience abuse usually at the hands of

an intimate partner. It is a sub-type of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 1-2

million women per year experience physical abuse and the majority of batterers

are male. People who find themselves in an abusive relationship often do not feel

safe or happy. They feel that they are the cause of abuse that leads to emotional

withdrawal. Yet, they feel unable to leave for many reasons such as love and

religion. Thus, Battered Woman Syndrome is an abuse that can affect women of

any age, social class, or education.

The aim of this paper is to inform people that Battered Woman Syndrome

can cause psychological effects in women in the Philippines.

This paper presents the long-term psychological effects on Battered

Woman Syndrome resulted from a traumatic experience and alarming or

threatening event. Also, the short-term of it displays psychological effects that

only occur to a relatively short period of time.

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Short-term Psychological Effects

The short-term psychological effects on battered woman is used to

describe the effects that will last for a short span of time or effects that will occur

soon rather than in the distant future. It includes low self-esteem, fearfulness,

anxiety, panic attack, insomnia, and helplessness. Although these effects are on

a short-term basis, it can still lead to a more serious type of psychological

damage to the victim when the abuser continuously do any acts of abuse

towards the victim.

Low Self-Esteem

Intimate partner violence is an under recognized problem in our society

that is misjudged and often overlooked. A substantial amount of research has

been performed that discusses the effects that violence has on women, not only

physically and emotionally but mentally as well. Violence in women has been

linked to chronic health, emotional, and social complications, one of which

includes low self-esteem. According to a study done by Papadakaki, Tzamalouka,

Chatzifotiou, and Chilaeotakis (2009), low self-esteem can cause women to

doubt themselves, which can promote maintaining relations with the abuser

because without the abuser, they reduce their quality of life. They feel the sense

of being worthless and are incapable in social situations and inadequate in doing

any work or accomplishment. They focus on not making mistakes in life that

lowers their opinion. Battered woman unconsciously believe that they’re

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unlovable, unlikable, and flawed causing them to feel unappreciated. They feel

guilty in the situation that tends to lead them to depression.

Wife battering is a prevalent case in Asian countries. For example the

Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Philippines in 2012

reported that one out of five women aged 15-49 years old or 14.40% of married

woman suffered from physical abuse from their husbands; one in ten woman

experienced sexual violence.

According to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey, one in

every four Filipino woman has experienced physical violence since the age of 15.

This insight leads to men being traditionally labeled as leaders and providers,

while women are seen as nurturers and supporters. This perception leads to men

gaining more power over women, which may then lead to Violence Against

Women (VAW) if this perception becomes out of control. VAW is a form of men’s

expression of controlling women to retain power. Women, who are victims of

VAW, may feel awkward, shy, conspicuous and unable to express themselves

resulting to lowered self-esteem.

Fearfulness

Battered women live with many fears; fear of the abuses, fear of physical

harm or injury, and fear that she has caused the problem. When a woman

decides to leave the abusive situations, her fears only increase; fear that no one

will believe her, fear of economic hardship, fear of the criminal justice system or
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social services, fear of reprisal by the abuser against her, her children, or her

friends and loved ones. These fears are based on reality and should not be

dismissed. This fear could eventually lead to a long term consequence which is

the Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD).

Once the battering begins, an abrupt surge of intense fear can cause a

variety of distressing symptoms that can be terrifying to the victim. Fear

experienced by battered woman is associated with fight or flight syndrome. They

tend to fight the situation because they love the abuser or afraid of losing him.

The latter shows that women have tendency to escape the situation and leave

things behind. Fear is the main reason of battered woman to not leave her

abusive partner. It escalates from threats, verbal, and physical assault. These

include increase blood pressure, faster heartbeat, accelerated ageing, impairing

formation of long-term memory and weakens the immune system.

Despite what many people believe, battering woman does not take place

because of an abuser loses control over behavior. In fact, abusive behavior and

violence is a deliberate choice to gain control and superiority over the abused.

Anxiety

Wife abuse has long been a feature of marriage in societies in which men

believed to have the right to dominate their lives. Women who have lived

through the cycle of violence may experience a stress response that includes

anxiety. Anxiety is a negative emotion characterized by feelings of tension,

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worried thoughts, and physical changes. It is a variety of emotional response

which may result from traumatic and life-threatening experiences such as

physical abuse. A battered woman who developed anxiety may experience

trembling, sweating, elevated heart rate, blood pressure, restlessness, and

difficulty in sleeping. This developed anxiety may be difficult to control because it

has already become body’s conditioned response to stress.

Intimate partner violence has become a global issue of concern which

negatively affects individuals beyond the immediate harm incurred through

physical injury. Historically, term such as wife battering or wife abuse have been

used to describe this occurrence. Battered women are more likely to suffer from

depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, eating problems, sexual

dysfunction, and reproductive health complications.

Panic Attack

Battering creates many anxious moments. But when the pressures of life

continually increase, one may fell anxious all of the time. The pressure can be so

great that a person would wonder if he or she will be able to carry the load of

anxiety even one step further. Anxiety in general is difficult to control, but when

this anxiety gets out of hand, a person may experience a sudden onset of

intense apprehension fear, and panic with no apparent cause. When this

happens, the general anxiety that the abused has developed, may have turned

into a more serious type of anxiety, called Panic Attacks. If left untreated, and

reoccurs, it may lead to Panic Anxiety Disorder.

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Panic attack is a type of anxiety disorder that most battered woman

experience. Symptoms include shortness of breath, headaches, anxiety,

sweating, and fear of dying. Panic attack is not directly linked to death but it can

cause different behaviors that can cause death.

An estimated 264 million people worldwide have an anxiety disorder. In

terms of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder, women are said to be 2-3 times more

likely to be affected than men. The social factor identified as contributory to the

development of Panic Disorder is a recent history of divorce or separation. We

usually see panic disorder in the young adult but this disorder may develop at

any age. In addition, Panic Disorder has been reported to occur even in children

and in adolescents.

Insomnia

Intimate partner violence puts the victim at risk for substantial medical

and psychiatric morbidity. As with other stress and trauma-related experiences,

intimate partner violence is associated with sleep disturbance, particularly

insomnia and nightmares. Clinically, significant insomnia and nightmares were

observed in 46% and 32% of participants, respectively. This occurs at least 3

times per week. Women who are depressed have more severe PTSD and were

more likely to have insomnia and nightmares than women who do not suffer

from depression.
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Sleep disturbances were prevalent among women experiencing intimate

partner violence, with both insomnia and nightmares predicting the presence of

depression even after controlling for PSTD severity. Insomnia causes fatigue,

decreased concentration, professional impairment, tension and worries. It can be

devastating because people with this disorder are more prone to accidents.

Given that sleep disturbances reduce individual’s abilities to function, women

with histories of intimate partner violence, anecdotally identify poor sleep as a

barrier to effective functioning. However, the diagnosis of insomnia lasts for

more than a week of sleepless nights. It cannot be called as insomnia if it only

lasts for 2-3 nights.

Helplessness

Learned helplessness is a social-learning theory that can be applied as a

psychological rationale for why some women remain in a battering situation and

what happens to them psychologically. Abused women have learned that their

voluntary responses really do not make much difference in what happened to

them, and it is difficult for them to alter their principles to believe that their

competent actions can change their life situation. Battered women do not like

being beaten and they will not leave their husbands or partners because of

economics, dependent personality disorder (DPD), children, and fears.

Helpless battered women believed that there is nothing that anyone can

do to improve a bad situation or battering. They are certain that the control over

the situation or its outcomes are impossible. They feel that there is no one to
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help them in the situation and there is no way to escape it. The lack of support

from family and friends tends to display the main for women to feel helpless and

powerless.

Long-term Psychological Effects

The long-term psychological effects on battered woman syndrome include

dependent personality disorder (DPD), trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder

(PSTD), depression, and suicide attempt that is a worldwide problem and can

affect women at any point. This can be a result of experiencing trauma and

having a threatening or alarming experience, such as battering. A woman who

had this syndrome experiences the effects that last for 12 months or more after

the occurrence or if a recurrence happened or continued until more the 12

months after the first occurrence.

Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is an anxious personality disorder

characterized by an inability to be alone. People with dependent personality

disorder (DPD) develop symptoms of anxiety when they are not around others.

They rely on other people for comfort, reassurance, advice, and support.

Dependent personality disorder belongs to cluster C personality disorder (fearful

or anxious presentation). Throughout the development span, there are varying

degrees of dependence on others which one normal and socially accepted and

expected (Out of the Fog, 2014).

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People with dependent personality disorder (DPD) become emotionally

over dependent on other people and spend great effort trying to please others.

People with dependent personality disorder (DPD) tend to display needy,

passive, and clinging behavior, and have a fear of separation. Battered women

are dependent to their abuser for many reasons. First, battered women have the

fear that they cannot live without the abuser because of economics. If they leave

the abuser, they are no longer sustained financially and are not able to survive.

Another factor is that battered women are dependent to their abuser for the

reason that they have children. Their children need support in every aspect of

their lives and must live in a complete family. The battered women fear that

people may not side with them if they leave the abuser in their toxic relationship.

They need the abuser for people to believe that they are being abused and are

helpless. They find themselves willing to do anything to maintain the toxic

relationship with a dominant partner or person of authority.

Although the exact cause of dependent personality disorder (DPD) is not

known, it involves a combination of biological, developmental, temperamental,

and psychological factors. Some researchers believe an authoritarian relationship

can lead to the development of dependent personality traits in people who are

susceptible to the disorder.

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Trauma

Intimate partner violence can be life-threatening for some woman, but

more commonly results in injuries, immune disorders, difficulty in sleeping, and

gastrointestinal problems. The mental health impairments associated with IPV

include depression, low self-esteem, psychological distress, trauma and PTSD.

Trauma is a type of damage to the mind that occurs as a result of a

distressing event such as battering. Trauma is often the result of an

overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one’s ability to cope or integrate

the emotions involved with that experience. It is the damage of mind due to

distressing event that leads women to be emotionally, cognitively, and physically

overwhelm. When women bears trauma, helplessness, disorientation, and

anxiety is the outcome.

Battering and its effects are complex phenomena, which often are not well

understood by the public. Women who have experienced battering often

confront an array of psychological issues that suffer in both type and intensity.

Although women experience and respond to battering differently, a number of

reactions are common among those who have been exposed to these traumatic

events. Most of battered women experience trauma that leads to other

psychological effects such as fear and anxiety. Trauma can affect women’s belief

about the situation via loss of hope, limited expectations that the abuser will

change, fear that life will end abruptly, or anticipation that normal life would not

occur. If a victim of abuse experiences the following symptoms: re-experiencing,

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avoidance, and triggers, the trauma may have transmitted to a more serious

condition, which is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD).

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric disorder of intrusive re-

experiencing, avoidance and emotional numbing, and hyperarousal symptoms

that occurs in some individuals in the aftermath of a traumatic event like

battering. It falls into 4 categories: intrusive thoughts, avoiding reminders,

negative thoughts and feelings, arousal and reactive symptoms. Also known as

“shell shock” in the past because of nightmares and flashbacks of battering,

feeling sadness, and fear or anger, and estranged from other people.

A traumatic event is defined as experiencing or witnessing an event

involving threat to life and physical integrity that results in feelings of fear,

helplessness, or horror. It can happen at any age and leads to depression,

occupational instability, marital problems and divorce, suicidal thoughts and

others.

The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) among battered

women is high, ranging from 45-84%. Numerous studies find a close-response

relationship between IPV and PSTD: the more type of IPV experience such as

battering, the greater the number of the woman’s PSTD symptoms. Similarly, in

other studies, battered women displayed higher rate of PSTD, depressive and

anxiety symptoms as well as thoughts of suicide.

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Depression

The battered woman exhibited high levels of stress and moderate-severe

degrees of depression. It seems clear that battering can be an important

component of depression in battered women. Depression, also known as major

depressive disorder is a serious mood disorder. A person suffering from

depression may experience persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and

they may lose interesting the activities that they once enjoyed. Women who are

depressed experience five or more symptoms during the same 2-week period

and at least one of the symptoms should be either depressed mood or loss of

interest or pleasure. It includes diminished interest in all, weight loss, and

feelings of restlessness, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, indecisiveness, and

thoughts of death.

It is important to examine the concomitants of depressive symptoms

reported by battered women because of the high frequency and potential

vulnerability-enhancing effects of these symptoms within battering relationships.

In the Philippines, 3.3 million Filipinos suffer from depressive disorder with

suicide rates in 2.5 males and 1.7 females per 100,000.

Suicide Attempt

Suicide and suicide attempts by battered women occur below the radar of

most professionals working to end violence against women. Few battered women

have shared their thinking and experience related to suicide.

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Research on suicide or suicide attempts by battered women offers

preliminary insight into the significant risk that intimate partner violence poses

for suicide and attempted suicide by battered women. Suicide attempt is a

psychological effect of battered woman who cannot bear psychological pain or

distress. As a result of battering, women endure intense pain mixed with guilt,

anger, and regret. Severe depression is one of the cause why battered women

attempted suicide. Continuous battering to the woman cultivate the principle that

they are the cause of the problem and the only way out is to kill themselves.

They are trying to take control of their destiny and alleviate their own suffering.

They lack the fear of pain and death and are fearless to attempt the suicide act.

Depression, psychosis, impulsiveness, helplessness, and desire to die are

the reasons why women attempt to kill themselves. Research shows that one

patient had made 15 attempts. Depression and PSTD may be results of ongoing

abuse from partner or lingering after effects of a trauma occurring years earlier.

Some battered females with suicidal tendencies indicate that they still deal with

psychological effects of sexual, emotional, and physical maltreatment

experienced as a child. Combined factors of low-esteem, these psychological

effects can trigger suicidal thoughts when victims blame themselves for their

abuse. Research shows that women in battering situations are more likely to

attempt to suicide when low levels of social support exist.

Suicide is a major contributor to premature mortality worldwide and is

among the leading causes of death in the Western Pacific Region. The Philippines
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is one of the most populous countries in the Western Pacific, yet very little is

known about the epidemiology of suicide and suicidal behavior in the country.
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SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION

Summary

Battering and the effects of battering are complex phenomena, which

often are not well understood by the lay public. It is a worldwide problem and

can affect any women at any point. In addition to physical injury, individuals who

have experienced battering often confront an array of psychological issues that

differ in type and intensity. Although individual women experience and respond

to battering, a number of reactions are common among those who have been

exposed to these traumatic events. Battered Woman Syndrome, a construct

introduced in the 1970s by the psychologist Lenore Walker, is sometimes used in

an attempt to explain common experiences and behaviors of women who have

been battered by their intimate partners. Psychological effects include short-term

effects such as low self-esteem, anxiety, fearfulness, panic attack, insomnia, and

helplessness. Similarly, the long-term psychological effects are trauma, post-

traumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicide attempt. These factors play a

vital role for women to have these effects. Abuse can affect women of any age,

social class, or education

Conclusion

Based on the findings, it is proven that Battered Woman Syndrome can

really cause psychological effects on the victims in the Philippines. The

conceptualization of Battered Woman Syndrome helped the field focus on the

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fact that battering has adverse effect on those who have been exposed to it. The

syndrome is real thus the battered woman needs strength and counseling, as

well as an ability to reasonably rely on our nation’s law enforcement officials.

Psychological Disorders such as depression have a need to be put into light to

end the stigma surrounding mental health concerns, and to avoid more serious

psychological conditions to come up. Counseling is also significant to battered

women to know their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, battered women do not

need clemency, as they should not be placed in prison to suffer undeserved

punishment. These women do not pose threats to society, but are usually

contributing citizens. The media, school, and even the politicians, must educate

the nation’s masses to the reality that violence does not pay and abuse will not

be tolerated, on any level. Society should never encourage abuse from ends,

battered women are given no choice but to fight back and end their torture.

Granting full legal recognition to the BWS will neither be granting a license to kill,

nor encouraging murder. What it will do is force our nation to realize that the

abuse is real, that it touches us all, and that we must amend adequate support

systems to assist its victims. However, until a perfect victimless utopia is created,

our battered woman deserve their own legal defense.

Recommendation

Despite efforts made by various sections of society and the government to

curb the menace of domestic violence against women, there is a rise in domestic

violence. This is curbed by:

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1. Educating women about her rights.

2. Community screening for the battered woman syndrome.

3. Providing adequate assistance and psychosocial support to the victim.

4. By offering safe shelters, crisis intervention, advocacy, and education and

prevention programs

5. Provision of strict laws and punishment for offense of battered woman

syndrome.

6. Every strata of society must contribute to ensure a violence free life for

every woman.

7. Properly educating the public with regards to the psychological effects of

abuse

8. Proper discussion of psychological disorders and terms to the public, to

end the stigma.

9. Educating the public with regards to the Mental Health Law.

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