NCJ Number
187921
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2001 Pages: 144-158
Date Published
April 2001
Length
15 pages
Annotation
A study of killings of children by parents in the South Pacific island Fiji between January 1, 1982, and December 31, 1994, examined offense patterns and the characteristics of victims and offenders.
Abstract
The data came from the Murder and Manslaughter Register of the Fiji Police Force. The records covered victim and offender characteristics, the relationship of the victim and the offender, the motivation for the killing, the circumstances of the death, the location and time of the homicide, and the weapon used. The researcher also read accounts in three local daily newspapers to corroborate official data and obtain clarification for missing information. Further data came from semistructured interviews with local criminal justice and medical personnel knowledgeable about homicide. Results revealed that 50 of the 361 homicides during the study period were filicide. Results indicated that filicidal parents were overwhelmingly female, young, and of low socioeconomic background. Filicide offenses were the culmination of excessive corporal strategies for child control, unwanted pregnancy, and stresses and strains associated with severe marital problems. Suicide attempts following the homicide occurred in 10 percent of the cases. The analysis concluded that further research in other societies is needed to aid understanding of the full range of factors that contribute to parents’ homicidal assaults on their offspring. Notes and 47 references (Author abstract modified)