Adding legal insult to injury: Battered women, their children, and the failure to protect

This article examines reported appellate cases from various jurisdictions in which battered mothers did not abuse their children but were penalized for their partners' abusive conduct in light of the underlying dynamics of domestic violence. It presents recommendations for increased collaboration, cooperation, and understanding between those who work with persons who are experiencing domestic violence and those who work with abused children. The authors contend that the civil and criminal penalization of nonabusive mothers for failing to protect their children adds legal insult to the physical injuries they have already suffered.