• Critically evaluate the liability of women who kill their abusers

There are two partial defences to murder in the jurisdiction of England and Wales, loss of control and diminished responsibility, both under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The essay evaluates the requirements of the defences, which can reduce a murder conviction to voluntary manslaughter, and concludes they are wholly unsuitable for women in heterosexual couples who have been coercively controlled by their partner and then go on to kill them. These women suddenly find themselves taking on a new and opposite role in the relationship - they are now viewed as the perpetrator and their, now deceased, partner is the victim. The period of time that the woman was the victim and the deceased was the perpetrator of coercive control, which in itself is criminalised under the Serious Crime Act 2015, must be fully considered. The essay advocates for a reform of the diminished responsibility defence, either through a re-writing of statute or judicial development of case law, to suitably recognise the woman’s vulnerabilities and consider her circumstances, without having to attribute this to a recognised medical condition. At times, the essay views the issue through a feminist lens, applying theory to the realities of these relationships, whilst striking the balance so as not to altogether condemn women to a victim status.