What kind of questions would you ask a battered woman killer that is suffering from battered women's syndrome?

Answer 1

Typically a battered woman suffers from - more so than low self-esteem and feelings of having deserved the abuse - unanswered questions and suppressed and unresolved anger. All of that then, creates a perpetuity of like and worsening conditions - the woman will attract more of the same which will only serve to exacerbate that which has already been repressed and suppressed. The aggression MUST be released... much the same way a pressure cooker will eventually release steam. That, is the 'short story' leading up to why a battered woman would even be a killer. She will attract people into her life with whom she believes she will be able to rewrite the story with a different ending... attempting to resolve the internal rage aimed at the perpetrator with this new person. This will not work, however, because the person she will attract will have the same characteristics as the original perpetrator... thus adding fuel to the internal burning embers. Not being able to sort this through and/or recognize the rage or her behavior, it is not surprising that a battered woman would become a killer... forever attempting to 'kill' the original perpetrator. That being said, the questions I would ask a battered woman killer would be: # Who does the "killee" represent? (referring to the original perpetrator) # What did this person do to you? # How has that affected who you are today? (as compared to the vision you had of yourself prior to being battered) # Describe the anger you harbor towards the perpetrator. # Describe the anger you harbor for how it's effected your life. # Which angers you more - having been abused or how it's effected who you are? Any further questions would flow from the conversation around the above questions.