panic defense abuse defense https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuse_defense https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4670673 A criminal law defense in which the defendant argues that a prior history of abuse justifies violent retaliation. While the term most often refers to instances of child abuse or sexual assault, it also refers more generally to any attempt by the defense to use a syndrome or societal condition to deflect responsibility away from the defendant. abuse defenses