Stockholm Syndrome: Trauma & Victim Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- 1 minute ago
- 1 min read
Keerthana Preethi A, The Tamilnadu Dr Ambedkar Law University
Krishna Leela S, Government Law College, Villupuram
ABSTRACT
Stockholm Syndrome, the psychological phenomena in which victims form emotional relationships with their captors or abusers, represents an important junction of victimology, trauma psychology, and criminal justice in contemporary law and practice. The phenomena was first identified following the 1973 Stockholm bank heist, and it has grown in importance in comprehending domestic violence, human trafficking, and long-term abuse situations. This article thoroughly investigates Stockholm Syndrome through a victimological framework, analyzing its nature as a trauma response rather than pathology, psychological mechanisms generating victim-captor bonding, manifestations in Indian domestic abuse contexts, legal implications for criminal prosecution and victim protection, and systemic implications for judicial proceedings and trauma-informed justice. Drawing on neuroscience studies, attachment theory, learned helplessness paradigms, and cognitive dissonance theory, the paper illustrates that Stockholm Syndrome is a reasonable adaptation to irrational dangerous conditions, not victim weakness or blame. The article contends that Indian criminal justice systems fail to account for Stockholm Syndrome dynamics, resulting in victims being blamed for non-cooperation with the prosecution, subjected to traumatizing confrontation procedures, or having their credibility undermined by trauma-induced testimony inconsistencies. Through analysis of relevant Indian criminal law provisions (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Code of Criminal Procedure 2023, Indian Evidence Act 1872, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023), Supreme Court precedents establishing victim testimony viability absent corroboration, and comparative international approaches, the article proposes trauma-informed legal reforms incorporating: recognition of Stockholm Syndrome as legitimate trauma response in judicial reasoning; proceeds.
Keywords: Stockholm syndrome, Victimology, Trauma-Bonding, Domestic Violence Criminal Justice, etc.
