Text of the provision
Sec. 26. Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense. – Victim-survivors who are found by the courts to be suffering from battered woman syndrome do not incur any criminal and civil liability notwithstanding the absence of any of the elements for justifying circumstances of self-defense under the Revised Penal Code. In the determination of the state of mind of the woman who was suffering from battered woman syndrome at the time of the commission of the crime, the courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/ psychologists.
Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, Republic Act No. 9262 (2004). Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified word-for-word against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this section means
A victim-survivor found by the court to be suffering from battered woman syndrome does not incur criminal or civil liability, even where the usual elements of self-defense under the Revised Penal Code are absent. In determining her state of mind at the time of the act, courts are to be assisted by expert psychiatrists or psychologists.
Related provisions
- Section 25 — Public Crime.
- Section 27 — Prohibited Defense.
Cases citing this section
- Authorities on this section will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.