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The first idea that one generally gets at the very mention of the word 'domestic violence' is that of the male partner abusing the female physically. However, there are also many cases where the woman in the relationship is the one doing it, or may be refuting to what has been done to her, by being violent in return towards her partner.

Domestic abuse has always remained a controversial topic with regard to determining a punishment for battered women who use violence toward their partner.

A recent study suggests that bettered women who engage in mutual violence with their partners, and with a shared history of substance abuse, are often seen in a bad light and, according to the report, are also subjected to harsher punishments.

For the study, Elisabeth C. Wells, the author of the research, analyzed the reason behind the kind of sentences that were given to women by the judges.

Wells studied 26 domestic homicide and abuse cases in Canada between 1974 and 2006.

The study focused on two possible lines of reasoning: One that considered the threat and extent of violence toward the women in the relationship and other that used police evidence to emphasize substance abuse and ongoing mutual violence.

The analysis revealed that while making a decision to determine the sentence for women, a judge's reliance on each line of reasoning was associated with harsher sentencing, Medical Xpress reported.

"Judges downgraded acts of previous partner violence by using minimizing descriptions and by emphasizing the mutuality of the violence and of substance abuse," wrote Wells.

Wells emphasized that there is a need for the legal systems to understand and recognize the complex nature of victim's mentality and behavior in domestic abuse cases.

"Typically, women's use of violence within their relationships has been found to be another aspect of their ongoing victimization."

The study was published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, a SAGE Journal.