Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Familicide and family law: a study of filicide-suicide following separation
Other Titles:	Family court review
Authors:	Johnson, Carolyn Harris
Keywords:	Post-separation violence;Homicide;Family law;Perpetrators
Year:	2006
Publisher:	Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Citation:	44 (3), July 2006
Notes:	This article presents the findings from a qualitative study based on 7 Western Australian familicide cases (family homicide followed by suicide) where custody and/or access were in dispute. One or more young children were murdered by their father, with the homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator (and one case of attempted suicide). The aim of the research was to see whether there were common factors among the familicide cases which appeared to have been a dispute about custody or access to children that took place between 1989 and 1999, in order to identify factors that could assist families at risk and thereby develop preventive strategies. Survivors were hard to access and due to the small number of cases, data from 2 other offences that took place outside the original 10-year timeframe are included. Qualitative methodology was used, which involved a combination of documentary analysis and survivor interviews. A summary of a literature review on the causes of homicide, incidence of homicide, spousal homicide, spousal homicide followed by suicide, filicide (child killing by a parent), and familicide is provided. Constraints and challenges of the study are outlined, such as contacting the survivors and then engaging them to participate. Data were hard to obtain and five separate ethics approvals had to be sought. Common factors are identified from the research findings. They include: familicide was more related to separation than to a custody or access dispute; a history of domestic violence existed; the perpetrator had a history of obsession, egocentricity and pathological jealousy; the perpetrator had made threats to harm or to kill, showed evidence of untreated mental health issues, and held a proprietary view of his wife and children; the offence was premeditated; women underreported the violence; and there were fears of abandonment and a lack of individuation in the perpetrator which seemed to link to emotional decline at the time of separation. The effects of trauma on survivors are described. Recommendations on policy, practice and research are provided. Screening and proactive management of high-risk cases are suggested.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14728
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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