Is a Good Woman Hard to Find? Reflections on the “ideal victim” in criminal law

Abstract

Is a Good Woman Hard to Find? Reflections on the “ideal victim” in criminal law

Feminist jurisprudence has posed several challenges to Law, pointing it out as a way of reproducing sexual and gender inequalities. In this paper, through the analysis of case law about violence in intimate relationships and femicide, I will seek to identify some of the most common gender stereotypes in judicial narratives, particularly in relation to the victim. The results demonstrate that, in a more or less subtle way, a legal imaginary about victimization persists in legal culture. This imaginary is influenced by stereotyped ideas of femininity (and masculinity) that it is important to deconstruct.