Contextualising Domestic Homicides

Abstract

Traditionally, the act of murder has been viewed as a crime committed by men. The subject of women’s violent crimes has received only cursory attention in past academic research, and media attention typically focuses on high-profile or sensational cases such as those of Sara Thornton and Kiranjit Ahluwahlia. As a result, there has been a tendency in discussions about women’s acts of murder to view their crimes as an aberration or to stereotype women who kill as inherently evil. In doing so, they are no longer viewed as ordinary women, but are now categorized as violent offenders. This has led to allegations of discriminatory treatment of women murderers in the legal system. Whilst scattered non-feminist research has been conducted in this area, it has not offered an analysis of the treatment of women murderers in the criminal justice system. It was not until the mid-1970s that feminists’ research in this area became significant and began to address the issue of legal discrimination against female homicide defendants. Yet, in an attempt to understand the actions and motivations of women in England who kill, writers have had to rely on the few feminist studies emanating primarily from America and Australia. The absence of a detailed analysis highlighting the circumstances of women who kill their partners in England has arguably hindered the debate about the legal treatment of women murderers in England.