A young woman involved in a relationship with a man who commits violent acts, of the mind, the body or the spirit, is generally considered to be a victim of a heinous crime. Women in these dire situations are viewed as helpless victims cruelly taken advantage of. However, there exists a grey area when it comes to the issue of women in abusive relationships, specifically when the woman commits a heinous deed herself: the act of murder. Though only 19% of spousal murders and 22% of boyfriend/girlfriend murders are committed by females, the issue of women’s use of lethal violence against a partner had staggering social consequences. Female violence against an abusive intimate partner is a complex and often confusing issue as it varies considerably
