Rethinking Imminence: Self-Defense and Coercive Control in Domestic Violence

Key Points

• The aim is to analyze how current legal definitions of self-defense inadequately reflect experiences of domestic violence victims.
• Analysis of legal doctrines related to self-defense in domestic violence cases
• Examination of the structural mismatches in American criminal law
• Exploration of the implications for coercive control within legal frameworks
• Current legal standards for self-defense do not adequately consider coercive control, as evidenced by frequent convictions in such cases.
• Judicial interpretations of imminence lead to inconsistent outcomes for domestic violence victims.
• There is a call for reform to better incorporate the experiences of victims of ongoing abuse.

Abstract