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Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, Second Edition Chapter 8: Female Offenders and their Crimes

Introduction (1 of 2)

Nature of women’s crimes.

Gender gap.

Male and female crime participation.

Introduction

Nature of women’s crimes:

Nonviolent or victimless, such as drug abuse and sexually based offenses.

While female crimes of violence are highly sensationalized by media, these are rare occurrences.

Gender gap: the differences in male and female offending for different types of offenses.

Male and female crime participation:

Proportion of violent crime cases is far greater for males than females.

While women are a larger proportion of property crimes, these are still dominated by male offenders.

The narrowest margin is for larceny-theft cases, where men are 60.5% and women are 39.5% of arrests.

Introduction (2 of 2)

Arrest trends from 2011 to 2020.

Impact of percentages.

Introduction

Arrest trends from 2011 to 2020:

Demonstrate an overall decrease for violent and property crimes for both genders.

14.1% increase in men’s arrests for arson between 2016 and 2020, yet a decrease between 2011 and 2020.

Decrease in robbery and aggravated assault cases, but increase in homicide crimes.

Impact of percentages:

Percentage changes for female offenders seem high because base numbers are much lower than for male offenders.

Women remain a small proportion of the total number of arrests.

Women and Drugs (1 of 4)

Historical view.

War on drugs.

Pathways to drug use.

Age and home environment.

8.2. Evaluate the impact of addiction and the war on drugs on women.

Women and Drugs

Historical view:

Women were not identified as typical addict or drug abuser.

In many cases, use of prescription and illegal substances (particularly by White women) was normalized, often as a response to the pressures of gender-role expectations.

Examples can be found in advertisements for antianxiety medications to calm the frenzied housewife.

In modern era, drug use was promoted as desirable (for White women) with image of the heroin chic fashionista of the 1990s, personified by Kate Moss.

War on drugs:

It has had a significant impact on women with illicit drug addictions.

In last few decades, incarceration rates grew 108%, but raw numbers grew eightfold.

These can be attributed almost exclusively to female drug offender (or to the rise in other offenses because of drug use).

In 2012, female drug offenders account for 25% of state prison population compared to 9% in 2008.

Pathways to drug use:

Research identifies similar pathways, regardless of race, ethnicity, or drug of choice.

Substance use becomes a method of coping with their lives.

Primary pathways include exposure to alcohol and drugs at a young age, early childhood victimization and trauma, mental health challenges, and economic challenges.

Age and home environment:

Some women begin to use drugs at an early age. They are often exposed to drug use within home environment.

Family can provide increased availability of drugs and an accepting environment.

Substance abuse can become part of family culture.

Lack of parental supervision may also lead to substance use.

Early experimentation can also lead to a longer term of addiction.

Women and Drugs (2 of 4)

Victimization and trauma.

Mental health issues.

Romantic relationship.

Limited abilities for self-sustaining life.

8.2. Evaluate the impact of addiction and the war on drugs on women.

Women and Drugs

Victimization and trauma:

Women who experience violence and abuse during formative years are more likely to abuse substances.

48% to 90% of addicted women have endured physical or sexual victimization during childhood.

Left untreated, drugs become a way to escape from the pain of childhood abuse and trauma.

Mental health issues:

72% of men and women with severe mental disorders have co-occurring substance abuse problem.

Women have higher rates of mental illness than men.

In absence of treatment, many choose to self-medicate, which can lead to addiction.

Romantic relationship:

Women may engage in substance abuse as part of a romantic relationship.

This may become addiction and continue even once the relationship ends.

Limited abilities for self-sustaining life:

Addiction limits the abilities for many women to develop a self-sustaining life.

It places women at risk for homelessness, violence, and incarceration in effort to fund drug use.

There may be collateral consequences, particularly for her minor children.

Women and Drugs (3 of 4)

Substance abuse and pregnancy.

Drug use as criminal justice issue.

Sentencing structures for offenders.

Women as users and dealers.

8.2. Evaluate the impact of addiction and the war on drugs on women.

Women and Drugs

Substance abuse and pregnancy:

Lack of prenatal care can place child at risk for health and developmental issues.

Pregnancy may encourage some women to seek treatment and try to change their lives.

Relapse, incarceration, and time in a treatment facility may separate mothers from their children.

Addiction may make women emotionally unavailable for their children.

Over time, intergenerational pattern emerges, and daughters turn to the same addictions.

Drug use as criminal justice issue:

As addicted women shifted toward criminal activity to support drug habit, perception that drug addiction is dangerous spread.

Shift of addiction from a public health issue to a criminal justice issue fueled the fear.

Heightened frenzy over the dangerousness of drugs has fueled the war on drugs.

Sentencing structures for offenders:

The introduction of mandatory minimum sentencing was a major change in the processing of drug offenders.

With elimination of judicial discretion, judges were unable to assess the role of women in these offenses. They now received long sentences instead of probation and other community supervisions.

This led to dramatic increase in female incarceration rates for drug-related offenses.

Women as users and dealers:

Most cases involve women as users.

Even when involved in sales, they rarely participate in mid- or high-level management.

Women dealers at higher levels are often characterized by justice officials as either more like their male counterparts or worse for violating gender norms.

Women who enter drug trade through relationship with an intimate partner are viewed by courts as less culpable and “under the influence” of criminal men.

Women and Drugs (4 of 4)

Changes in federal sentencing laws.

Call for return to war on drugs.

War on women.

8.2. Evaluate the impact of addiction and the war on drugs on women.

Women and Drugs

Changes in federal sentencing laws:

These have reduced disparities in sentencing and have created a new system where courts are overloaded with drug possession and distribution cases, and growth of prison economy has reached epic proportions.

Efforts appear to have done little to stem use and sale of drugs.

Call for return to war on drugs:

Attorney General Jefferson Sessions has instructed federal prosecutors to pursue harsh punishments for drug-related crimes, even low-level offenses.

To justify this, he has cited perceived increase in crime rates over the past year.

Overall crime rates other than drug-related have changed little in the last 40 years.

War on women:

These policies have led to increase in incarceration rates of women.

Some scholars suggest that the war on drugs has in effect become a war on women.

Property Crime (1 of 2)

Illegal acquisition of property.

Crime rates and gender participation.

Role of addiction.

Economic survival.

8.1. Explain the role of women in violent and property offenses.

Property Crime

Property crime:

Refers to illegal acquisition of money, goods, or valuables, but without use of force or fear to obtain property.

Uniform Crime Report includes arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) includes only burglary, motor vehicle theft, and theft (larceny).

National Incident Based Reporting System includes arson, bribery, burglary, vandalism, embezzlement, blackmail, fraud, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, stolen property offenses, bad checks.

Crime rates and gender participation:

Rate of property crime victimization (property crime per 1,000 households) is roughly one-third the 1993 rate.

Females are more likely to be involved in property offenses compared to other crimes.

Males commit the overwhelming majority of such crimes. Men committed 62% of property crimes in 2010.

Role of addiction:

Drugs are the most common factor among females who engage in property crimes.

52% of property offenders engage in crime to get money so that they can buy drugs, compared to 15% of violent offenders.

Economic survival:

Only 40% of incarcerated women were employed prior to their arrest.

Welfare reform during 1990s led to small reduction of female involvement in serious property crimes.

Addiction can play a role for some offenders. Addicts unable to hold employment might turn to crime to support household.

Property Crime (2 of 2)

Shoplifting as a pink-collar crime.

Gendered engagement in crime.

8.1. Explain the role of women in violent and property offenses.

Property Crime

Shoplifting as a pink-collar crime:

Shoplifting may be undertaken to support other areas of criminality or as a primary occupation.

These women view themselves as professionals, and their ability to shoplift is a skill.

Shoplifter develops a list of clients who will purchase their goods.

Her attire is based on type of stores so that she can blend in with legitimate shoppers and go undetected by security.

Gendered engagement in crime:

Women engage in robbery as solo offenders.

They typically do not engage in overt acts of violence and select other women as their victims.

They may use their femininity to draw in victims as part of a larger mixed-gender group.

Prostitution (1 of 8)

Selling or trading sex.

Criminal act.

Arrest trends.

Trade for commodities.

8.3. Identify how prostitution and sex work is gendered.

Prostitution

Prostitution:

Involves the act of selling or trading sex for money.

Forms include escort services, massage parlors, or work in brothels, bars, and truck stops.

Street-level prostitution is one of the most visible forms.

Criminal act:

In some cases, prostitution is legalized and regulated by administrative rules.

In others, it has been decriminalized, which means no criminal penalties for those who engage in the act.

In some cases, it is legal to sell sex, but illegal to purchase it or to run a brothel.

Most of the U.S. operates under prohibition of prostitution.

Arrest trends:

National Incident Based Reporting System says that there were 7,543 arrests in 2019.

57.7% of offenders were female.

Most of these are workers of the trade and not traffickers or customers.

Trade for commodities:

In addition to money, women in street-level prostitution also trade sex for drugs or food, clothing, and shelter.

Women in this arena experience high levels of risk for violence and victimization.

Prostitution (2 of 8)

Common risk factors.

Early childhood sexual victimization.

Running away from home.

Normalization in some families.

8.3. Identify how prostitution and sex work is gendered.

Prostitution

Common risk factors:

History of abuse is one of the most common factors.

Drug addiction almost always paves the way to prostitution.

Poverty: Many women choose to enter street prostitution and brothel work out of financial need.

Street prostitution: an illegal form of prostitution that takes place in public places.

Early childhood sexual victimization:

There is a strong correlation between experience of incest and prostitution.

87% of participants in a recovery program experienced abuse in early childhood, often by family member.

They learned about sexuality as a commodity, and a way to feel powerful about their lives.

Running away from home:

Girls often run away to escape abuse. Once on the streets, they are at risk for even more violence.

Many turn to prostitution to survive.

Prostitution is also a way to regain some agency and control of their sexuality.

Normalization in some families:

For some adolescent girls, the decision to enter prostitution is normalized.

Prostitution is practiced within the family/community and viewed as an economic opportunity.

Prostitution (3 of 8)

High levels of violence.

Reporting violence.

Impact of witnessing peer violence.

Dealing with risky situations.

8.3. Identify how prostitution and sex work is gendered.

Prostitution

High levels of violence:

Women in prostitution witness and experience violence daily on the streets.

More than 90% are brutally victimized. They are robbed, raped, and assaulted by customers and pimps or even an intimate partner.

The greater their poverty, the more likely they are to experience violence.

Time in the profession also increases risks of violence.

Reporting violence:

Many do not report out of fear of arrest, coupled with a belief that police will do little.

Women often return to the streets immediately following victimization; this temporary intervention is viewed as a delay in work rather than an opportunity for an exit strategy.

Many characterize their experience as normal and going along with their lifestyle.

Impact of witnessing peer violence:

Often leads to mental health issues.

Drug use becomes a way to cope.

Dealing with risky situations:

As pressure to make money increases, women may enter increasingly risky situations with customers.

Women rely on their intuition to avoid potentially violent situations.

Many will not leave a designated area and generally refuse to get into a car with a client.

Others carry a weapon.

Prostitution (4 of 8)

Feelings about a violent incident.

Role of drug addiction.

Long-term physical health risks.

Mental health concerns.

8.3. Identify how prostitution and sex work is gendered.

Prostitution

Feelings about a violent incident:

Some women feel thrill and power when they are able to survive.

Some are surprised when they reflect on the level of violence later.

Some may dissociate themselves and believe that the experience was not as traumatic.

Role of drug addiction:

About 70% of women in prostitution have issues with drug addiction.

Some begin use prior to their entry in prostitution and then resort to prostitution to fund drug habits.

Others may begin use later in effort to self-medicate against the fear, stress, and low self-esteem.

As time on the streets increases, so does substance abuse. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.

For some addicts, taking a prostitution charge (misdemeanor) is better than a drugs charge (felony).

Long-term physical health risks:

Women engaged in street-based sex work are at risk for issues related to HIV, hepatitis, and other chronic health concerns, including dental, vision, neurological, respiratory, and gynecological problems.

They face challenges in finding contraception and physical health screenings.

Death rate of women in prostitution is 40 times higher than the death rate of overall population.

Mental health concerns:

Cases of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are directly related to levels of violence experienced. Two-thirds of prostituted women experience symptoms.

Sufferers unable to accurately assess levels of threat, are at increased risk for victimization.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): may develop after a person experiences a traumatic life event. PTSD can include flashbacks, avoidance of emotional contexts, and recurrent nightmares and may inhibit normal daily functioning abilities.

Prostitution (5 of 8)

Focus on heteronormative model.

Experience of LGBTQ youth.

8.3. Identify how prostitution and sex work is gendered.

Prostitution

Focus on heteronormative model:

Research on street prostitution focuses on a heteronormative model of prostitution, with women engaging in the selling of sex and men are the consumers.

While research on LGBTQ+ experiences is limited, 25 to 35% of male sex workers identify as gay or trans.

Experience of LGBTQ youth:

Decision to engage in survival sex often follows rejection due to sexual or gender identity, and restricted access to targeted medical care and social welfare.

These youth are seven times more likely to trade sex for housing than heterosexual youth and most are homeless when they first enter the sex trade.

Transgender street sex workers face higher rates of violence from clients due to transphobia and community tolerance.

Only a few centers or mental health workers provide the unique support and services they need.

Prostitution (6 of 8)

The Legalization Debate

Legal prostitution in Nevada.

Safety mechanism in Nevada’s brothels.

Legalization of brothels in Netherlands.

Initiatives taken by Dutch government.

8.4. Summarize the different arguments for the legalization and decriminalization of sex work.

The Legalization Debate

Legal prostitution in Nevada:

Limited to counties with a population under 400,000, excluding high-traffic areas.

Laws focus on minimization of risk and reduction of violence.

Zoning laws regulate where brothels can exist and carry hefty licensing fees.

There are mandatory weekly screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.

Safety mechanism in Nevada’s brothels:

Audio monitoring and call buttons in rooms.

Limited services outside of the brothel environment.

Women in brothel settings feel safe and rarely experience acts of violence.

Legalization of brothels in Netherlands in 2000:

Practice of prostitution was already common.

The state created opportunity for brothel owners to own a legal business.

Through licensing, authorities could mandate public health and safety screenings for sex workers.

Labor laws regarding working conditions for prostitutes were put into effect.

The state also created a tax base in which revenue could be generated.

Initiatives taken by Dutch government:

Dutch government aimed to create safe working conditions for women in prostitution and a system of monitoring of the sex trade.

It also aimed to regulate associated illegal activities like street crimes, exploitation of juveniles, or trafficking of women.

Prostitution (7 of 8)

The Legalization Debate

Reaction to zoned area for prostitution.

No guarantee to following laws.

Criminalization of demand.

More sanctions for seller in U.S.

8.4. Summarize the different arguments for the legalization and decriminalization of sex work.

The Legalization Debate

Reaction to zoned area for prostitution:

Some argued that it would improve safety, provide increased services, and reduce presence of street prostitution in other areas.

Others questioned whether crime would increase in these areas.

Some expressed objections to having such zones near residential areas.

No guarantee to following laws:

Many brothels fail to register their businesses and pay little attention to the regulatory rules.

Illegal sexual practices have continued to flourish; the Netherlands is a leading destination for pedophiles and child pornographers.

During COVID-19 pandemic, some Dutch sex workers continued to work illegally for income.

Not all qualified for support or the funds were inadequate.

Even once other industries reopened, brothels remained closed.

Criminalization of demand:

In Sweden, purchasing of sex from women is a criminal act; The belief is that criminalizing the male demand may significantly decrease the supply of women who engage in these acts.

In the passing of these laws, Sweden’s parliament indicated that it is not reasonable to punish seller of sex as they are the ones exploited.

Demand is an important characteristic in selling of sex, but larger issues like economics, globalization, poverty, and inequality contribute to a system of sexual exploitation.

More sanctions for seller in U.S.:

Women are more likely to face sanctions for selling sex, than men who seek to purchase it.

Criminalization impacts help seeking behaviors, as sex workers may fear legal repercussions.

Prostitution (8 of 8)

The Legalization Debate

Challenges faced by women.

Failure of public health systems.

Limited ability to leave prostitution.

Requirements to exit streets.

8.4. Summarize the different arguments for the legalization and decriminalization of sex work.

The Legalization Debate

Challenges faced by women:

Despite legalization of the brothel environment, prostitution remains a significant way in which women are brutalized and harmed.

Social stigma of women does not decrease because of the legalization.

Restriction of brothels to specific regions isolates women from mainstream society and magnifies stigma.

Women continue to experience victim blaming when they are victimized.

Failure of public health systems:

System fails to meet some of the most critical needs, because efforts are limited to physical health.

Little to no attention is paid to mental health needs.

Limited ability to leave prostitution:

Multiple needs (housing, employment, and drug treatment) stops the women from leaving prostitution.

Few programs provide adequate levels of services for women during this transition.

Affordable safe housing is the greatest immediate need for women in transition. Homelessness puts them at risk for relapse.

Requirements to exit streets:

Women exiting the streets indicate a variety of therapeutic needs, including life skills, addiction recovery programming, and mental health services.

An exit strategy needs to acknowledge barriers to success and continuing struggles that women will experience.

Women and Violence (1 of 5)

Girls and Gangs

Estimates of numbers.

Earlier reasons for entering gangs.

Distinguished by sexuality.

Expanding role in modern research.

8.5. Examine how gender roles are established in gang culture.

Girls and Gangs

Estimates of numbers:

Surveys of 1990s estimated that between 8% and 11% of gang members were female.

Not all jurisdictions include girls in their counts, which can skew data.

The National Youth Gang Center suggests that these rates have remained consistent.

Self-report studies reflect a higher percentage: 38% of self-identified gang members between ages 13 and 15 were female.

Recent self-report data indicate that girls represent between 31% and 45% of gang members.

Earlier reasons for entering gangs: Classic studies suggested girls entered gangs as a result of a brother or boyfriend’s affiliation.

Distinguished by sexuality: This sexualization manifested in several ways:

As a girlfriend to a male gang member.

As one who engages in sex with male gang members.

As one who uses her sexuality to avoid detection by rival gang members and law enforcement.

Expanding role in modern research:

Female gangs are increasing their membership ranks as well as expanding their function as an independent entity separate from the male gang.

Girls in the gang are no longer the sexual toy of the male gang, but active participants in crimes of drugs and violence.

Women and Violence (2 of 5)

Girls and Gangs

Modern reasons of entering gangs.

Gang membership as family affair.

Desire to belong.

Relationship among life situation factors.

8.5. Examine how gender roles are established in gang culture.

Girls and Gangs

Modern reasons of entering gangs:

Poverty: Girls in gangs come from poor families in economically depressed areas.

Social disorganization in their neighborhoods.

Limited opportunities for positive, prosocial activities.

Increased pressure to join a gang.

Limited achievements in the classroom: Educational experience has little to do with books or teachers.

Parents never married, and presence of intimate partner abuse within the home.

Family member who was involved in the criminal justice system.

Vulnerability: Not joining a gang makes them more vulnerable than joining one.

Gang membership as family affair:

For some girls, membership in a gang is a family affair, with parents, siblings, and extended family members involved in the gang lifestyle. For these girls, gang affiliation comes at an early age.

Childhood and preteen years: Limited acts of delinquency and drug experimentation.

Junior high: Several risk factors, including risky sexual behavior, school failures, and truancy.

Teenagers: Committed to the gang and criminal activity. Later adolescent years (ages 15–18) represent the most intense years of gang activity.

Desire to belong:

Many abused girls run away from home. Gangs provide a refuge.

Gang might provide a sense of family that was lacking.

Relationship among life situation factors: Relation between factors like neighborhood exposure to gangs, family involvement in the lifestyle, and family problems illustrates the trajectory of girls into the gang lifestyle.

Women and Violence (3 of 5)

Girls and Gangs

Lifestyle, structure, and characteristics.

Initiation processes.

Impact of initiation on girls’ status.

Crime participation by girl gangs.

8.5. Examine how gender roles are established in gang culture.

Girls and Gangs

Lifestyle, structure, and characteristics:

Some girls hang out with gangs in search of a social life, but do not consider themselves as members.

Structure of the gang ranges from mixed-gender gang to functioning as an independent unit.

In mixed-gender gangs, girls’ role ranged from being an affiliate of male gang unit to having separate but equal relationship.

Initiation processes:

Jumped in, blessed in (gaining access via family).

Walking the line: Girls were subjected to assault by their fellow gang members.

Being “sexed” in or pulling a train: an experience that involved having sex with multiple individuals, often the male gang members. In some cases, girls were prostituted by the gang.

Impact of initiation on girls’ status:

Those sexed in experienced lower levels of respect by fellow members and were subjected to continued victimization.

Initiation created a hierarchy within the ranks. Those viewed as tough were jumped in, whereas being sexed in sealed an identity as promiscuous.

In some cases, girls were only excluded from being sexed in if they identified as gay or bisexual.

Crime participation by girl gangs:

They engage in more crime than non gang-affiliated girls, but participate at rates similar to male gang members.

Criminal offenses include violent crime, selling drugs, property crimes, and economic crimes like prostitution, burglary, robbery, or theft.

Not all their crimes were violent. In some cases, girls acted to draw in rival gang members.

Women and Violence (4 of 5)

Girls and Gangs

Victimization for independent gangs.

Connection to a male gang.

Ways to exit gang lifestyle.

Choices for those remaining in gangs.

8.5. Examine how gender roles are established in gang culture.

Girls and Gangs

Victimization for independent gangs:

Girls who are independent of a male gang hierarchy tend to experience high levels of violence as a result of selling drugs and interactions on the streets with other girls.

These girls are aware of potential risks and take precautions, like having a weapon, staying off the streets at night, and traveling in groups.

Connection to a male gang:

This can serve as a protective factor but can also place girls at risk of rape and sexual assault.

These girls tend to experience higher levels of violence on the streets compared to girls in independent cliques.

These organizations tend to be patriarchal and it is rare to see a woman in a leadership position.

These girls are at higher risk of victimization due to exposure to assaults and drive-by shootings involving male gang members.

Ways to exit gang lifestyle:

Exit coincides with end of adolescence.

They may withdraw as a result of pregnancy and need to care for young children.

The exit may also be facilitated by an entry into legitimate employment or advanced education.

Some may be removed from gangs as a result of incarceration; programming within prison that targets the unique needs of gang-affiliated girls could provide an exit strategy.

While some may choose to be “jumped out,” most will simply diminish involvement over time rather than be perceived as betraying or deliberately going against their peers.

Choices for those remaining in gangs:

They may continue as active members and expand their criminal résumé.

Their relationships with male gang members may continue, which allows them to continue their affiliation in either a direct or indirect role.

Women and Violence (5 of 5)

Gender and Violent Crime

Women’s participation.

Sensationalized in pop culture.

Increase in public fascination.

Opinion over evidence.

8.1. Explain the role of women in violent and property offenses.

Gender and Violent Crime

Women’s participation:

Females make up a small proportion of violent offenders.

Their participation in homicide accounts for less than half of the arrests of men and offending rates have declined.

Women are more likely to kill someone known to them than a stranger. They generally kill their spouses, significant others, or their children.

Sensationalized in pop culture:

Portrayal in movies like Fatal Attraction and Chicago produced much of the fascination about female violent crime.

Cases from 1920s where women were acquitted for killing their husbands or lovers were sensationalized in local newspapers.

Even popular song lyrics draw attention (and justify) violent actions of women.

Media fascination shows in trials of Pamela Smart and Casey Anthony.

Increase in public fascination:

Televised trials: The intimate accessibility allows the public to feel part of the trial experience with a personal investment in its outcome.

There are multiple sources to satisfy desires for dramatized portrayals of crime and justice.

Many sources of information dominate the public perceptions of crime, like Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

Opinion over evidence:

Despite the lack of direct evidence, press portrayals may cause public to assume the woman’s guilt.

In trials like Jodi Arias, there was no shortage of “legal experts” waiting to give their opinion on the events of the day, the evidence presented, or the demeanor of the defendant.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children (1 of 4)

Filicide.

Viewed as inherently evil

Neonaticide.

Infanticide.

8.6. Discuss the role of mental illness in cases of filicide.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children

Filicide: the homicide of children older than one year of age by their parent.

Mothers who kill their children are often viewed as inherently evil:

She violates the gender normative expectations that society instills for women and mothers.

Andrea Yates is one of the most identifiable cases in the 21st century. Her case illustrates several factors common to such incidents like history of mental health issues.

Neonaticide: an act of homicide of an infant during the first 24 hours after the birth of the child.

Infanticide an act in which a parent kills his or her child within the first year.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children (2 of 4)

Altruistic reason for infanticide.

Themes common to altruistic filicide.

Acute psychosis.

Killing of unwanted infant.

8.6. Discuss the role of mental illness in cases of filicide.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children

Altruistic reason for infanticide:

Mother believes that it is in the best interests of the child to be dead.

She believes (real or imagined) that the child is suffering and that the child’s pain should end.

Themes common to altruistic filicide:

Societal pressure for women to be good mothers: For Yates, this was influenced by her religious fundamentalism and exacerbated by her history of mental illness.

Pressure of bearing the sole responsibility to care for the children: Yates expressed feeling overwhelmed and lacked any support from outside of the family.

Acute psychosis:

The second category infanticide is the killing of a child by an acutely psychotic woman.

These cases are closely linked to postpartum psychosis where mother suffers from severe mental illness and may be unaware of her action or unable to appreciate its wrongfulness.

In Finland, 51% of mothers who killed their children suffered from psychosis and psychotic depression.

Killing of unwanted infant:

The third category involves killing of an unwanted infant.

These women tend to be unmarried, under 25, and generally wish to conceal their pregnancy from friends.

Some may acknowledge pregnancy, but be in denial and not prepared for birth. Others fail to acknowledge.

They typically give birth without medical intervention and without any form of prenatal care.

Children are typically killed by strangulation, drowning, or suffocation.

In Hong Kong, women in this category were typically treated with leniency and given community sentences in lieu of incarceration.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children (3 of 4)

Accidental death following abuse.

Act of revenge against another.

Justice from postpartum syndromes.

8.6. Discuss the role of mental illness in cases of filicide.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children

Accidental death following abuse:

The fourth category involves the “accidental” death of a child following incidents of significant child abuse and maltreatment.

Death follows incidents of significant child abuse and maltreatment.

Often, death occurs after a long period of abuse.

Act of revenge against another:

The fifth category represents involves death of a child as an act of ultimate revenge against another.

Death of a child is used as a vengeful act, usually against the spouse and father of the child.

Justice from postpartum syndromes:

The presence of a psychological disorder makes it easier for society to understand that a mother could hurt her child.

Evidence of psychosis may be used to determine whether defendant is legally competent to participate in criminal proceedings.

Information about postpartum syndromes can be used as evidence to exclude culpability of the woman during a trial proceeding.

In some states, this evidence forms basis of a verdict of “not guilty by reason of insanity.”

Mothers Who Kill Their Children (4 of 4)

Empathy from insanity defense.

Guilty but mentally ill.

8.6. Discuss the role of mental illness in cases of filicide.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children

Empathy from insanity defense:

The insanity defense enables female violence to coexist comfortably with traditional notions of femininity.

It also promotes empathy toward violent women, whose aberrance becomes a result of external factors rather than conscious choice.

Guilty but mentally ill:

Defendant is found guilty of the crime, but the court may mitigate criminal sentence to acknowledge her mental health status.

For many offenders, this can allow them to serve a portion of their sentence in a treatment hospital or related facility.