Did battered spouse syndrome emerge from a change in the law or a court case? Best guess coersive control stemed from this case. It didn't spur a change in the law. The victim of course was a man.

Maybe you could help out in the comments. From what I recall, battered woman syndrome arose from a case and not from a change in the law. Several feminists floated the idea of battered women syndrome. Someone used it in a case and the law was effectively changed (ie politicians didn't bother to pass a law OR passed a law to codify it, but the fact it wasn't previously codified didn't prevent the woman from using it or benefitting from it). Best I can tell. The first instance of coersive control was

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/people-v-walker-battered-husband-defense

He wasn't able to utilize it as a defense nor did it spur a change in the law. Some jurisdictions have started to recognize this, but it wasn't from this case. If you have any information on the case or if another case precedend this or the case that fiirst used battered woman syndrome, add it to the comments.

My theory is because of the empathy gap when men complain about things, it's ignored. When women complain, it spurs change. Something you can mention when someone says that it's because men don't talk about their problems because masculinity.