Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Rationalizing Murder

A University of Ottawa law professor and author of a book on battered women, Elizabeth Sheehy, is creating some controversy with her statement that a battered woman is morally entitled to kill her abuser. Sheehy has compared battered women to prisoners of war who may find themselves in a situation of having to kill their captors in order to escape. While Sheehy may be trying to compare the psychological similarities of both situations, her comments could be sending the wrong message to those seeking to rationalize the killing of their abuser. Prisoners of war do not have the option of walking out the door and seeking help. That, and not murder, should be stressed as a solution to the problem.

No comments: