Violence from Women’s Kin

Synonyms

Daughter-guarding; Homicide; Honor killing; Parent-offspring conflict

Definition

Genetic kin benefit from monitoring and defending female family members. Daughter-guarding and sister-guarding, for example, in the forms of vigilance or violence, function to control a woman’s sexual behavior, thereby regulating with whom she reproduces. However, violence from kin members is sometimes directed toward the woman. Sometimes this violence includes “honor killing,” in which a woman is killed to restore her family’s reputation, typically on suspicion that she has participated in illicit or socially unacceptable sexual behavior.

Introduction

Females are a reproductive commodity. For example, although sons have the ability to produce more offspring than daughters, daughters have more certain opportunity to reproduce than sons, Because women invest more heavily in offspring than men, women are more selective when choosing mates. Men compete with one another to secure sexual access to...