Women Who Kill Their Abusive Partners: from Sameness to Gender Construction

Since the early 1990s there has been a plethora of academic commentary on the criminal law’s treatment of women who kill their abusive partners. More recently, the debate has been re-opened due to the Law Commission’s proposals on Partial Defences to Murder. This article aims to critically analyse the approach adopted by the academic commentary and to place in within a feminist theory framework. In addition the article argues that the work of queer theorist Judith Butler enables the analysis of the law’s treatment to be developed further.Law Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University. I would like to thank Dr Jamie Murray and Dr Lorie Charlesworth for their help and support in the writing of this article.     

Early Models for Contemporary Thought on Domestic Violence and Women Who Kill Their Mates:

Women who kill abusive partners have become the focus of new social policy and research since 1970. A review of the early literature on women and domestic homicide from 1895 to 1970 shows that, while a specific focus on female homicide resulting from abuse was lacking, a rich heritage of ideas about homicidal women developed during this period. This heritage inevitably shaped the ways in which female offenders in general were viewed and presaged our most recent insights. A conceptual framework for recognizing the etiological themes which emerged is presented.     

Fathers Who Kill Their Children: An Analysis of the Literature

Abstract:  Roughly half of filicidal acts are committed by fathers, though the majority of the literature focuses on maternal filicide. This paper reviews the existing literature on paternal filicide with the goal of identifying characteristics common among these fathers. Fathers who killed their children were, on average, in their mid thirties. The mean age of their victims was five. They may have multiple victims. Sons and daughters were killed in equal numbers. Reasons included death related to abuse, mental illness (including psychosis and depression), and revenge against a spouse. The method often involved wounding violence. Suicide following the act occurred frequently. After being tried for their crimes, filicidal fathers were more frequently incarcerated than hospitalized. Given the range of those capable of this act, mental health professionals must be alert to the possibility of filicide in a variety of fathers. Considering this risk, clinicians should inquire about thoughts of harming children, partners, and themselves.     

Effects of Judicial Instructions and Case Characteristics in a Mock Jury Trial of Battered Women Who Kill

This study examined the effects of judicial instructions on the outcome of a mock jury trial that involved a woman who pleaded self-defense after killing her abusive spouse. Jurors were instructed to adopt either an objective or a subjective standard of reasonableness when reaching a verdict. Within objective/subjective instruction conditions, half of the juries viewed a case in which the woman killed her abuser while he was attacking her (confrontational) and the remaining half viewed a case in which she killed him while he was asleep (no confrontation). Juries in the subjective conditions returned significantly more not guilty verdicts than jurors in the objective conditions. At the individual juror level, participants hearing subjective instructions were significantly more likely to rate the defendant as not guilty than jurors given objective instructions when the abuse was nonconfrontational.     

Incarcerated Battered Women: A Comparison of Battered Women Who Killed Their Abusers and Those Incarcerated for Other Offenses

The present study compared battered women incarcerated for killing/seriously assaulting their abusers with battered women incarcerated for other offenses to explore possible similarities and differences in the characteristics and experiences of the two groups as well as to determine what factors may lead some battered women to use lethal force against their partners. Comparisons were made on a number of variables including sociodemographic factors, characteristics of the battering relationship, alcohol/drug use of battered women and their abusers, perceived social support, actions taken to end the violence, prior criminal behaviors, and childhood trauma factors. Findings revealed that women in the homicide/assault group were older, in the relationship longer and experienced a longer duration of violence in this relationship. They also experienced more frequent and severe battering, including sex assaults and sustained more injuries than those in the comparison group. Further, battered women who killed/seriously assaulted their partners were more likely to believe that their lives were in danger, were less likely to use violence against their partners, and were less likely to have a prior criminal record or to have served time previously. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Domestic Homicide: Neuropsychological Profiles of Murderers Who Kill Family Members and Intimate Partners

Domestic homicide is the most extreme form of domestic violence and one of the most common types of homicide. The objective was to examine differences between spontaneous domestic homicide and nondomestic homicide offenders regarding demographics, psychiatric history, crime characteristics, and neuropsychological status, utilizing neuropsychological test data from forensic examinations of 153 murderers. Using standard crime classification criteria, 33% committed spontaneous domestic homicides (SDH) and 61% committed nondomestic homicides (NDH). SDH offenders were more likely to manifest psychotic disorders, but less likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder or to have prior felony convictions. SDH offenders manifested significantly worse neuropsychological impairments than NDH offenders. The mean number of victims was lower for the SDH than the NDH group and only 14% of SDH offenders used a firearm, whereas 59% of NDH offenders used a firearm. These findings corroborate the notion that spontaneous domestic homicide may represent a discernible criminological phenotype.     

Social Support Related to Women Who Have Remained with Their Partners After the Physical Violence has Ceased

Using a U.S. nationally representative sample (N?=?5,692; U.S. National Comorbidity Survey- Replication Part II [NCS-R]; Alegria et al. 2007), this research explored social support as a possible protective factor for abused women. Women who were physically abused by their partners, but not during the past year reported more positive social support from friends than women who continued to experience physical violence or women who had not experienced partner violence. Women who had experienced recent physical violence reported more negative social support than women who had not experienced partner violence. These findings suggest that positive social support might be a protective mechanism for women in abusive relationships.     

Women Offenders Who Use and Deal Methamphetamine

Abstract

This article describes the patterns of methamphetamine use among a group of women offenders and their involvement in manufacturing and distributing the drug. All of the women (N = 64) had used methamphetamine frequently for some time during their lives and were recently mandated to a prison- and a community-based drug treatment program in Portland, Oregon. The vast majority of women used methamphetamine regularly during the past year, and most of them had been involved in the production or distribution of the drug. Many of them continued to be involved in dealing methamphetamine over time. Implications for mandated drug treatment are discussed.     

Factors that Influence Life Satisfaction Among Battered Women in Shelters: Those Who Stay Versus Those Who Leave

The study focused on differences between women who left shelters for battered women and returned to their partners, versus those who stayed in the shelter for over 3 months. The study was conducted in battered women’s shelters in Israel, and examined the contribution of women’s internal resources (self-esteem and empowerment) to their life satisfaction, as well as the contribution of integration (participation and commitment) in the shelter at the time of their arrival to their satisfaction with their life. Findings indicate that, among the group of women who stayed in the shelter, personal resources as well as participation and commitment contributed to their life satisfaction. Among the group of women who left the shelter, only commitment contributed to life satisfaction.     

Parenting in Battered Women: The Effects of Domestic Violence on Women and Their Children

This study integrates an ecological perspective and trauma theory in proposing a model of the effects of domestic violence on women's parenting and children's adjustment. One hundred and twenty women and their children between the ages of 7 and 12 participated. Results supported an ecological model of the impact of domestic violence on women and children. The model predicted 40% of the variance in children's adjustment, 8% of parenting style, 43% of maternal psychological functioning, and 23% of marital satisfaction, using environmental factors such as social support, negative life events, and maternal history of child abuse. Overall, results support the ecological framework and trauma theory in understanding the effects of domestic violence on women and children. Rather than focusing on internal pathology, behavior is seen to exist on a continuum influenced heavily by the context in which the person is developing.     

Constructing Women Who Experience Male Violence: Criminal Legal Discourse and Individual Experiences

This article examines the relationship between how women who experience violence from a male partner construct themselves, and how criminal legal discourse constructs female victims of violence. It is argued that in both arenas, women are constructed according to norms which emanate from a discourse of conventional femininity which operates together with a practice of shame. Utilising empirical data gained from qualitative interviews with women who experienced male violence, the article contends that the construction of the female victim of violence in criminal legal discourses as imbued with stereotypical ‘feminine’ characteristics such as passivity and weakness, may influence these women’s own construction and understanding of themselves. The existence of a practice of shame further consolidates the self-regulation of the women themselves to these norms of femininity. This construction is posited to be problematic as the experiences of women of male violence rarely ‘fit’ within these explanations. The article contends that in order to better understand women’s experiences of male violence; both criminal legal and individual women’s discourses need to be read in terms of the power, knowledge and effects which they exert upon individual women. It is argued that this alternative reading of these discourses has the potential for transformation as they are invested in the subject.

Identifying the Needs of American Indian Women Who Sought Shelter: A Practitioner-Researcher Partnership

American Indian women across all ages are significantly more likely than women of other ethnic groups to be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Despite their increased risk of interpersonal violence, there are few published studies or reports that explicitly examine the needs of victimized American Indian women. Therefore, both researchers and service providers know very little about the multifaceted needs of victimized American Indian women and whether current community services are meeting the needs of victimized native women. Identifying such needs is a logical next step so that victim service agencies can develop and effectively provide services tailored to victimized American Indian women. This commentary addresses these gaps by (1) identifying the needs of American Indian women in a domestic violence shelter in Arizona, and (2) highlighting the researcher-practitioner partnership that made it possible to gain access to these victims. Drawing on survey responses from 37 American Indian female clients and interviews with 10 staff members, the findings reveal that the domestic violence agency service provider is meeting many of their needs. Findings also indicate that clients have a wide variety of specific personal needs (e.g., safety, housing, transportation), needs relating to their children (e.g., safety, education, socialization), community needs (e.g., relating to their tribe), as well as legal needs (e.g., help obtaining a restraining order or divorce). These multifaceted needs are discussed and specific recommendations are provided for successful researcher-practitioner partnerships.     

拐卖妇女儿童罪的几个问题

拐卖妇女、儿童罪是一种严重的危害社会的犯罪,其保护客体是被拐取人的人身自由和本来的生活场所的安全。构成本罪,被害妇女的同意可以阻却违法,但儿童的同意则不能阻却违法。构成本罪也不要求有场所的转移。本罪是典型的目的犯,构成犯罪既遂时,并不要求实现特定目的。本罪是继续犯,在犯罪行为的继续中,有成立共犯的余地。从犯罪本质上讲,绑架罪、拐骗儿童罪与本罪的罪质都是一样的,三者构成了对人身自由和本来的生活场所安全法益的完整的保护体系。     

Navajo Women and Abuse: The Context for Their Troubled Relationships

In this article, on the basis of interviews with seven Navajo women, the author discusses the Navajo womans perspective on domestic violence. These discussions reveal several factors that distinguish the Navajo womans experience of abuse from that of the Anglo³ woman. These factors are examined in light of historical and contemporary understandings of the Navajo world. Three cultural elements can help us understand the Navajo womans experience of abuse: the cultural concept of hózhó, the searing tale (in the Creation Story) of the quarrel between First Man and First Woman, a quarrel that brought great tragedy to the people; and the Kinaáldá, the female puberty rite. It is the authors argument that these facets of the Navajo culture, in addition to Western explanations for womens staying with abusive partners, are powerful contributors to the Navajo womans understanding of abuse in her life and if we are to develop successful techniques for intervention, we must consider these elements as well as those of the dominant culture.     

Working with People Who Are Violent to Their Partners: A Safety Building Approach

This article offers a new perspective on the assessment, treatment and management of adults who are violent to their partners. Using a worked case example, it describes how a solution-focused approach is used to develop, and evidence, safety for all family members.

Masculinity and Spousal Violence: Discursive Accounts of Husbands Who Abuse Their Wives in Ghana

This study investigated the influence of cultural notions of masculinity and its enactments on husband-to-wife abuse in Ghana from a discursive psychological perspective. Two focus group discussions and four in-depth personal interviews were conducted with 16 perpetrators (husbands) from rural and urban Ghana. Participants’ discursive accounts revealed that social anxieties of husbands, their fear of being perceived by others as weak or emasculated, and their disappointment with unfulfilled notions of masculine sovereignty influence conjugal violence. Perpetrators constructed a wife’s expression of dissent to her husband’s wishes and commands as an encroachment on masculine spaces, a gender-norm violation, or as providing a public challenge to male identity and thus violence could be used as an obligatory passage to manhood. Perpetrators also mobilized shifting and ambivalent discourses that draw upon culturally familiar notions of maleness to both resist and authorize a patriarchal privilege in marriage.