Counting Dead Women in Australia: An In-Depth Case Review of Femicide
Gender-based fatal violence (femicide) is a preventable cause of premature death. The Counting Dead Women Australia (CDWA) campaign is a femicide census counting violent deaths of women in Australia from 2014. We conducted a cross-sectional in-depth review of CDWA cases Jan-Dec 2014 to establish evi...
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Published in | Journal of family violence Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Springer US
01.01.2019
Springer Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Gender-based fatal violence (femicide) is a preventable cause of premature death. The Counting Dead Women Australia (CDWA) campaign is a femicide census counting violent deaths of women in Australia from 2014. We conducted a cross-sectional in-depth review of CDWA cases Jan-Dec 2014 to establish evidence of antecedent factors and describe femicide in Australia. Victim (
n
= 81) and perpetrator (
n
= 83) data were extracted from the CDWA register, law databases and coronial reports. Mixed methods triangulation of socio-demographic and incident characteristics. Women ranged in age from 20 to 82 years of age (44 ± 15.4). There were 83 perpetrators, of which 13 were unknown (not yet apprehended). Known perpetrators (
n
= 70) ranged in age from 16 to 72 years of age (40 ± 12.7) and 89% were male (62/70). The location of the crime was most frequently the victim’s home (49/70). In cases where the relationship between the victim and perpetrator was known (
n
= 59), over half of femicides were committed by intimate-partners (33/59). Intimate-partner perpetrators were more likely to have a history of violence and commit murder-suicide than other perpetrators. Femicide is overwhelmingly perpetrated by males, with women most vulnerable in their own home and with their intimate partners. Furthermore, intimate-partner femicide is associated with modifiable risk factors, including previous violence and mental health issues, which represents opportunities for early intervention within healthcare settings as practitioners are well-placed to identify risk and provide support. In line with recommendations for multi-sectoral approach, future research should target identification of risk and protective factors, and improved coordination of data collection. |
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ISSN: | 0885-7482 1573-2851 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10896-018-9963-6 |