Type:	Non-Fiction
Title:	Why do they kill? : men who murder their intimate partners
Authors:	Adams, David
Keywords:	Perpetrators;Prevention;Homicide
Year:	2007
Publisher:	Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville
Notes:	General Overview: :This US book uses detailed interviews with men who killed their wives and women seriously assaulted by their husbands, to explore why men kill their wives and how these homicides can be prevented. Discussion: :The author interviewed 31 men who had killed their wives and 39 women whose partners had seriously assaulted them. His aim was to increase understanding about what leads to women’s murders by men. The author found that the men who killed their wives could be classified into five groups, those who were: jealous, substance users, materially motivated, suicidal and career criminal. He also examined their upbringings, particularly their experience of child abuse. The author discusses literature indicating that men’s killings of intimate partners are best understood as manifestations of attempts to maintain proprietary control over women. None of the men interviewed agreed that they owned their partner but 86% of the women interviewed thought that their partner felt this way. The author analyses the findings in terms of coercive control and notes that many of the killings occurred following estrangement or attempted separation on the part of the victim – that is, the failure of other methods of exerting control. The author reviews what is known about abusive men in general and notes that while they are more likely to be poorly educated, substance abusers and have criminal records, these factors are not sufficient to identify abusers. However, all abusive men show features of jealousy and possessiveness, denigrate and blame their partners, and minimise their violence. The author asked the men what would have deterred them from killing and asked the women what was helpful to them in escaping the abuse. Based on the responses, he makes the following recommendations: reduce access to guns, make the criminal justice system more victim friendly, improve community responses to disclosures of violence, educate young people about abusive behaviour and create more options for battered women.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/11579
Physical description:	viii, 288 p. ; 23 cm.
Appears in Collections:	Books

Items in ANROWS library are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.