"stand your ground," and "self-help." When an abused domestic partner resorts to self-help in order to rid themselves of the abusive partner, they are usually in violation of the law and a crime is committed.
The legal system places varying degrees of limitation on self-help, and laws vary widely among different jurisdictions. Often, self-help will be allowed as long as no law is broken, and no breach of the peace occurs (or is likely to occur). Also, the usual limit on liability for actions of an agent will not apply; if one uses an agent such as an independent contractor to perform the self-help action, the principal will be held strictly liable if anything goes wrong.
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n a looser sense, it can also refer to individuals taking the law into their own hands, usually through violence or other illegal behavior. It can lead to factions forming around the disputing parties and also to broad civil conflict.
Historically, self-help has been regarded as the recourse for injured parties when no courts are available that will accept jurisdiction. The dangers of self-help are often advanced as an argument against allowing a situation to develop in which people feel they have no judicial path to a remedy, or that the courts are too corrupt to render just decisions, and as the main reason why impartial courts are established in the first place.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-help_(law)
Under most "Stand Your Ground" laws, the right to self defense is invoked by a "perceived" threat of harm which is often the subjective one-sided perspective of the survivor.
Edited to add: the link takes you to a different page. Add "_(law)" to the end of the link in the address box to get the correct page.
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