Maternal Filicide: More Than One Story to Be Told

Having identified that most violent crime is carried out by men, feminists have recently called attention to the need to also bring a feminist analysis to violent crimes committed by women. This research examines data drawn from coroners court files in Victoria, Australia for the period 1978 to 1991...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women & criminal justice 1997-10, Vol.9 (2), p.15-39
Main Authors: Alder, Christine M., Baker, June
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Crime
Female Offenders
Feminist Theory
Homicide
Infanticide
Literature
Mothers
Murders & murder attempts
Parent Child Relations
Suicide
Violence
Violent crime
Women
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Summary:Having identified that most violent crime is carried out by men, feminists have recently called attention to the need to also bring a feminist analysis to violent crimes committed by women. This research examines data drawn from coroners court files in Victoria, Australia for the period 1978 to 1991 to explore scenarios of maternal filicide. The data are reviewed in three groupings: murder-suicides, neonaticides and fatal assaults. The findings challenge assumptions that a unitary explanation is possible for these events, and thus for female homicide more generally. Representations of female homicide as predominantly emotional outbursts entailing a loss of control are not supported by the data. Further analysis of maternal filicide is needed which considers in more detail the ramifications of the construction of motherhood for the everyday lives of women.
ISSN:0897-4454
1541-0323
DOI:10.1300/J012v09n02_02