Blog #2- What problems do women face when using the BWS defence in Canadian courts?

Hi everyone! 

In this post, I will explain my project plan:

My inquiry question is: What are the problems faced by women when using the BWS Defence in Canadian Courts? 

Round of research 1:

I will introduce the BWS defence and some basic concepts of law. I think this is necessary to make my further posts understandable.  In addition, I will research about the history of the defence. Some of the questions I will answer will be: 

• What is BWS?

• What is the BWS defence? 

• How, when and why was it created?

Round of research 2:  

In this round, I will research on the challenges faced in judgement of the defence. The main focus will be on the difficulties of interpreting BWS cases. I will analyse interpretations and procedures taken in legal cases involving battered women in Canada and the laws behind it. 

I will base my research on these questions: 

• How did the laws behind it change to adapt to the realities of battered women?

• How do the laws of self-defence difficult the use of the BWS defence? 

• How does the rule of use “excessive force” applied in these cases? 

• How does the relationship between the accused and the victim difficult the interpretation defences?

Round of research 3: 

The focus of this last post on the battered women that choose to not use this defence. I will research on the main three problems that make women hesitant to use the defence. 

The basic questions for it will be: 

• Why do women plead guilty to lower charges instead of defending themselves?
• How does the “25 minimum sentence” increase the skepticism in use of the defence?   

   Here are five useful references for my research: 

1. Dawson, T. (2021, August 13). Why “battered woman syndrome” is not a straightforward defence for women who kill. Nationalpost. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/killings 
2. Glancy, G., Heintzman, M., & Wheeler, A. (2019). Battered woman syndrome: Updating the expert checklist. International Journal of Risk and Recovery. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijrr.v2i2.3820 
3. Shaffer, M. (1990). R. v. Lavallee: A Review Essay. The Ottawa Law Review. https://canlii.ca/t/29hd 
4. Sheehy, E. A. (2013). Defending Battered Women on Trial: Lessons from the Transcripts (Law and Society) (3rd ed.). UBC Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cls.2015.31 
5. The Canadian Press. (2021, May 3). Manslaughter conviction upheld for Alberta woman who said she acted in self-defence. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/7829959/morley-alberta-woman-manslaughter-abuse/

This project will allow Canadians to understand the problems or issues to be reviewed in our justice system. I hope it will encourage some to take action and demand change to improve them.

Sofia B.