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Uxoricide (from Latin uxor meaning "wife" and -cide, from caedere meaning "to cut, to kill") is the killing of one's own wife. It can refer to the act itself or the person who carries it out. It can also be used in the context of the killing of one's own girlfriend. Conversely, the killing of a husband or boyfriend is called mariticide.
Though overall rates of spousal violence and homicide in the US have declined since the 1970s, [1] rates of uxoricide are significantly higher than rates of mariticide (the murder of a husband). Of the 2340 deaths at the hands of intimate partners in the US in 2007, female victims made up 70%. [2] FBI data from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s found that for every 100 husbands who killed their wives in the United States, about 75 women killed their husbands. [3] However, wives were more likely to kill their husbands than vice versa in some US cities including Chicago, Detroit, Houston, [3] [4] and St. Louis. [1] Uxoricide rates varied among different demographic subgroups. In the US, 2002 murderers of spouses (husband and wives combined) were 69.4% white, 25.7% black and 4.8% Asian/Pacific Islander and 0.1 American Indian/ Alaska Native. [5]
In the region of South-East Asia, 55% of all murdered women died at the hands of their partner, followed by 40% in the African region and 38% in the Americas. [6] A 2013 study found that 38.6% of murders of women are committed by intimate partners. [7]
Rates of uxoricide seem to fluctuate across western cultures, with approximately seven women being killed per month in England and Wales, [8] approximately four women per month in Australia, [9] and approximately 76 women per month in the United States. [10] Note that these data come from different years and represent raw data, having neither been adjusted for nor indexed by country population.
Proponents of psychodynamic theories have offered explanations for the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of uxoricide. It has been suggested that men who kill their partners experience both an unconscious dependence on their wife and a resentment of her. These men wish to leave the relationship, but unknowingly perceive themselves as too helpless to do so, which culminates into a belief that killing the wife is the only way to be free of her. [11] This approach also offers an alternative explanation for instances where a man commits uxoricide and subsequent immediate suicide – the man ends his life not due to guilt, but instead due to his perceived helplessness and dependency. [12] [13]
Links have also been established between violence in childhood and likelihood of uxoricide occurring. Psychodynamic researchers argue that being the victim of abuse in childhood leads to being a perpetrator of domestic abuse in adulthood via the route of defense mechanisms – in this case, violence is an unconscious defensive adaption to childhood trauma and other adverse events. [14] Other psychodynamic researchers have reported that Thematic Apperception Tests reveal significant trends of rejection by a mother or wife in men who commit uxoricide. [15] Psychoanalytic dream interpretation has also argued that unconscious conflict manifests into violent outbursts. For example, in one instance one man had experienced and recorded over 200 distressing, mostly violent dreams prior to murdering his wife.
In slightly more than two-thirds of US spousal homicides, a verbal disagreement escalated to homicide. [16]
In two studies conducted in Canada and Britain, cohabiting women were found at greater risk of domestic violence and uxoricide than married women. Research has found that cohabiting women are nine times more likely to be killed by their intimate partner than married women. A number of possible reasons for this finding have been studied. Cohabiting women are more likely to be younger, have a lower level of education and are more likely to bring children from a previous relationship into their home with their new intimate partner. In addition to this heightened risk to a mother with stepchildren, the genetically unrelated stepfather also poses a risk to the child; research has shown that children are at much greater risk of violence and filicide (murder of a child) from stepfathers compared to a genetic father. [17] This may be because investment from a stepfather reduces reproductive benefits. Research has found that the presence of stepchildren can significantly increase the risk of uxoricide for women. A large number of filicides are accompanied by uxoricide and suicide. [18]
Additionally, cohabiting relationships have higher separation rates and males in these types of relationships may not feel in control of their intimate partners and may feel threatened by male sexual competitors. Research has found that a large proportion of uxoricide cases follow on from the male believing that his female intimate partner has been unfaithful or the female partner attempting to end the relationship. Research has shown that females often experience increased abuse following the termination of a relationship. An Australian study found that of a sample of uxoricide cases, 47% of women were murdered by their male intimate partner within two months of separating. Sexual jealousy may be a possible reason for this heightened risk following separation.
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Another risk factor for uxoricide is estrangement. [19] Women who choose to leave their partner are at higher risk of spousal homicide. [20] These crimes have been termed "abandonment homicides", and are most commonly committed by men with childhood histories of abandonment and trauma, in conjunction with markedly low serotonin levels and frontal cortex damage that contribute to poor impulse control. [21] The male is more likely to kill his mate before she has had the chance to form a new relationship with another man as he fears she will then devote her reproductive resources to a male rival's offspring. [22] Therefore, by killing his partner he will avoid the reputational damage associated with intrasexual competition and will eliminate the chances of another man having access to a high value mate. [20] This also explains why those women who have had children from a previous relationship are at higher risk of spousal homicide compared with those who have only had children with their current partner. [23] The female partner has already devoted her reproductive resources to another man, therefore when she establishes a new relationship, the male becomes involved in the upbringing of another man's offspring which will damage his hierarchical status amongst intrasexual rivals. [22]
The greater age disparity between spouses, the higher risk of spousal homicide. [16] For a male, the damage associated with infidelity is greater when the partner is younger. [24] A woman's fertility decreases as she gets older, [25] : 208 therefore, age is key indicator of reproductive success. [26] As a result, a man will place high levels of importance on a mate with greater reproductive value. [25] : 208 A man is more likely to engage in "hands on" killing methods when the mate has high reproductive value. [27] "Hands on" refers to more violent methods such as using weapons, drowning, stabbing and strangling. [26]
Some instances of uxoricide are facilitated by the culture of the victim and the perpetrator. For example, honor killings, whereby a man kills his wife because she has brought shame upon their family, are approved in some male-dominated, patriarchal societies. Approximately 42% of female victims of honour killings worldwide were killed because it was believed they had committed a "sexual impropriety". [28] Other facilitating cultural norms include discriminatory family laws and articles in the criminal code which display leniency towards honor killings. [29] In Turkey, it has been reported that little social stigma is attached to honor killings, and around 37% of those living in conservative areas believe that adulterous women should be killed. [30] [31] These attitudes favouring honor killings have also been echoed amongst children and adults in Jordan [32] [33] and India. [34] In Uruguay, until 2017 crimes of passion related to adultery were tolerated under Article 36 of the Penal Code (The passion provoked by adultery) – Artículo 36. (La pasión provocada por el adulterio). [35] On 22 December 2017, Article 36 of the Criminal Code was modified to remove the crime of passion. [36] There had been ongoing political efforts to remove this provision from the criminal code since 2013. [37] [38] [39] Uruguay has a very high rate of killing of women; according to a 2018 United Nations study, Uruguay has the second-highest rate of killings of women by current or former partners in Latin America, after the Dominican Republic. [40]
Uxoricide can also be prevalent in countries where honor killings are not considered acceptable. In South Africa, for example, as many as five women are estimated to be killed each week by an intimate partner. [41] It has been suggested that this high rate of uxoricide is a result of the prevalence of violence in South African society, and how it is deemed socially acceptable in many circumstances – conservative attitudes towards women in this society have been suggested to facilitate uxoricide. [42] Studies conducted in Italy exhibit similar findings, reporting that a man's cultural values concerning the position of women in society links to his likelihood of committing uxoricide. [43]
When a parent kills another parent, children experience significant trauma. The other parent is likely to be in prison or may have died by suicide and therefore, the child will go through significant loss. The child has lost not only one parent but has also lost the other parent who would have helped and supported them through this loss. This type of extreme traumatic event can have serious implications for a child's wellbeing and mental health. [44]
Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept exists in many cultures and shares some similarities in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Adultery is viewed by many jurisdictions as offensive to public morals, undermining the marriage relationship.
A crime of passion, in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger or jealousy rather than as a premeditated crime. A high level of social and legal acceptance of crimes of passion has been historically associated with France from the 19th century to the 1970s, and until recently with Latin America.
Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing their own child. The word filicide is derived from the Latin words filius and filia and the suffix -cide, from the word caedere meaning 'to kill'. The word can refer to both the crime and perpetrator of the crime.
Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother.
A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms:
Battered woman syndrome (BWS) is a pattern of signs and symptoms displayed by a woman who has suffered persistent intimate partner violence—psychological, physical, or sexual—from her male partner. It is classified in the ICD-9 as battered person syndrome, but is not in the DSM-5. It may be diagnosed as a subcategory of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Victims may exhibit a range of behaviors, including self-isolation, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse, and signs of physical injury or illness, such as bruises, broken bones, or chronic fatigue.
Femicide or feminicide is a term for the murdering of females, often because of their gender. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russell first implicitly defined the term as a hate killing of females by males but then went on to redefine it as "the killing of females by males because they are female" in later years. Femicide can be perpetrated by either sex but is more often committed by men. This is most likely due to unequal power between men and women as well as harmful gender roles, stereotypes, or social norms.
Mariticide literally means the killing of one's own husband. It can refer to the act itself or the person who carries it out. It can also be used in the context of the killing of one's own boyfriend. In current common law terminology, it is used as a gender-neutral term for killing one's own spouse or significant other of either sex. Conversely, the killing of a wife or girlfriend is called uxoricide.
An honor killing, honour killing, or shame killing is a traditional form of murder in which a person is killed by or at the behest of members of their family or their partner, due to culturally sanctioned beliefs that such homicides are necessary as retribution for the perceived dishonoring of the family by the victim. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste, other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or sexuality. Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has lost her innocence by bringing dishonor or shame upon the family name, reputation or prestige. Honor killings are believed to have originated from tribal customs.
Domestic violence occurs across the world, in various cultures, and affects people across society, at all levels of economic status; however, indicators of lower socioeconomic status have been shown to be risk factors for higher levels of domestic violence in several studies. In the United States, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 1995, women reported a six times greater rate of intimate partner violence than men. However, studies have found that men are much less likely to report victimization in these situations.
Murder of pregnant women is a type of homicide, often resulting from domestic violence. Domestic violence—or intimate partner violence (IPV)—is suffered by many, and when analyzing cases in which victims came forward, men are more likely than women to commit acts of severe domestic battery, and women are more likely to suffer serious injury as a result. Many of these women fear harm not just to themselves but also to their unborn children. Recently, more focus has been placed on pregnancy-associated deaths due to violence. IPV may begin when the victim becomes pregnant. Research has shown that abuse while pregnant is a red flag for pregnancy-associated homicide.
A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which an individual kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide. Where all members of a family are killed, the crime may be referred to as family annihilation.
Domestic violence is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It can assume multiple forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, financial abuse, or sexual abuse, or combinations of these. It can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and other violent physical abuse, such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that may result in disfigurement or death, and includes the use of technology to harass, control, monitor, stalk or hack. Domestic murder includes stoning, bride burning, honor killing, and dowry death, which sometimes involves non-cohabitating family members. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Home Office widened the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control.
Domestic violence is a form of violence that occurs within a domestic relationship. Although domestic violence often occurs between partners in the context of an intimate relationship, it may also describe other household violence, such as violence against a child, by a child against a parent or violence between siblings in the same household. In the United States, it is recognized as an important social problem by governmental and non-governmental agencies, and various Violence Against Women Acts have been passed by the US Congress in an attempt to stem this tide.
Domestic violence against men is violence or other physical abuse towards men in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. As with domestic violence against women, violence against men may constitute a crime, but laws vary between jurisdictions. Intimate partner violence (IPV) against men is generally less recognized by society than intimate partner violence against women, which can act as a further block to men reporting their situation or otherwise seeking help.
Domestic violence in Pakistan is an endemic social and public health problem. According to a study carried out in 2009 by Human Rights Watch, it is estimated that between 10 and 20% of women in Pakistan have suffered some form of abuse. Women have reported attacks ranging from physical to psychological and sexual abuse from intimate partners. A survey carried out by the Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked Pakistan as the sixth most dangerous country for women while India ranked 1st as the most dangerous country for women. Given the very few women's shelters in the country, victims have limited ability to escape from violent situations.
Domestic violence is prominent in Nigeria as in other parts of Africa. There is a deep cultural belief in Nigeria that it is socially acceptable to hit a woman as a disciplinary measure. Cases of Domestic violence are on the high and show no signs of reduction in Nigeria, regardless of age, tribe, religion, or even social status. The CLEEN Foundation reports 1 in every 3 respondents identified themselves as a victim of domestic violence. The survey also found a nationwide increase in domestic violence in the past 3 years from 21% in 2011 to 30% in 2013. A CLEEN Foundation's 2012 National Crime and Safety Survey demonstrated that 31% of the national sample confessed to being victims of domestic violence.
Deborah Sinclair is a Canadian social worker who has specialized in working with women who are victims of intimate partner violence. She served as an expert witness in court cases where intimate partner violence has played a role. She has been working with victims of violence for over thirty years.
Adultery in Francoist Spain and the democratic transition was a criminal offense which was defined as sexual intercourse between a married woman and a man other than her husband, and could lead to prison terms of between six months and six years. By contrast, the related crime for male infidelity was not treated the same: it was called amancebamiento and was defined as a married man keeping a mistress in the conjugal home, or keeping a mistress in a notorious manner outside the conjugal home. Adultery (adulterio) was often prosecuted, but not amancebamiento, with male infidelity being "a state of mind in Spain".
The boyfriend loophole is a gap in American gun legislation that allows physically abusive ex-romantic partners and stalkers with previous convictions or restraining orders to access guns. While individuals who have been convicted of, or are under a restraining order for, domestic violence are prohibited from owning a firearm, the prohibition only applies if the victim was the perpetrator's spouse or cohabitant, or if the perpetrator had a child with the victim.