NCJ Number
203843
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 2004 Pages: 1-15
Date Published
January 2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the most serious aspect of domestic violence -- intimate partner homicide.
Abstract
Various theories have been proposed to explain gender differences with respect to violence. These viewpoints are generally encompassed by two major theories regarding male and female spousal homicide. The male sexual proprietariness theory and the self-defense theory suggest that the dynamics of intimate relationships influence homicidal behavior. The male sexual proprietariness theory suggests that adultery has distinct consequences for men, such that men may be uncertain of the paternity of any offspring that are born. Legally, men have been given power and control over women’s sexual and reproductive capacities. Proprietary men not only view their partners as theirs exclusively, but also experience feelings of entitlement. Within this theory, the major issues that predominate include adultery, jealousy, desertion, and male control. The self-defense theory suggests that battered women that kill do so in response to an attack on themselves or following a threat from the abuser to harm another, usually a child. These women believe it is impossible to break free from the violent relationship. In intimate partner homicide, men are predominantly the offenders and women are much more likely to be the victims. The dominant theme among cases where men kill their intimate partners appears to be possessiveness. In the case of women killing their partners, the victims tend to initiate the violence during the homicide altercation, suggesting the women killed in self-defense. These theories appear to have value, despite some limitations. The importance of social context, biology, and psychological factors have been incorporated into the research and theories surrounding intimate homicide. Men and women’s attitudes within the relationship differ; yet, it is the dynamics of these relationships that influences the act of homicide. The decline in spousal homicide in Canada from 1996 to 1998 may be the result of reduced exposure to abusive or violent relationships as a consequence of the changing living arrangements of men and women, improvements in the economic status of women, and increases in the availability of domestic violence shelters. 62 references