Intimate partner homicide (IPH) constitutes the most extreme form of intimate partnerviolence. While this violent crime affects many of women all around the world, little isknown about this phenomenon when perpetrated against young victims. To date, no studyhas investigated trends of IPHs involving young victims. This study therefore aimed toinvestigate trends of IPHs in Sweden between 1990 and 2017, disaggregated by age-groupand gender. Using register data, this study compared opposite-sex relationship IPH com-mitted against young (≤ 25 years) and against adult (≥ 26 years) individuals, disaggregatedby gender. Using poisson regression modelling, our study demonstrates that while ratesof IPH against adult women has declined, the rate involving adolescent and young adultwomen has not. Our study also indicated a decreasing trend of IPH against adult men,albeit not significant. In conclusion, while IPH committed against adult women demon-strated a decrease over time, our findings suggest that IPH against young female victimshas remained stable the past 27 years. As youth IPH has been a neglected subject of re-search, these findings suggest that the policies to combat IPV and IPH may not be adaptedand tailored for the younger population
Objectives: Intimate partner femicide (IPF) is a public health issue with far-reaching and extreme consequences. As previous research mainly has treated IPF as an adult phenomenon, young victims of such violence have been rendered invisible . Consequently, youth IPF is not well understood and little is known about factors specific to IPF against adolescent and young adult females. Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine factors related to youth IPF (≤ 25 years) and to compare cases of youth IPF with cases of adult IPF (≥ 26 years) regarding these factors. Victim and perpetrator characteristics are explored, as well as factors related to the relationship and circumstances of the crimes. Methods: This epidemiological study is based on a national dataset that involves all homicides in Sweden between 1990 and 2017. Incidents of male-perpetrated femicide in which the perpetrator and victim were or had been in an intimate relationship were analyzed. Descriptive and multivariate analyses with odds ratios (OR) were conducted in order to make group comparisons between young (n = 62) and adult (n = 320) IPF. Results: Our study reveals interesting differences between youth and adult IPF, in which youth IPF is more likely to be motivated by relationship break-up, involve strangulation of the victim and drug use. Conclusions: Our study sheds light on the factors and circumstances that play an important role in youth IPF, and could be fruitful to target in future prevention and intervention efforts that aim to combat severe violence against adolescent and young adult females.
Using the spectral as a conceptual metaphor, we explore narratives within Sweden’s welfare institutions and policy discourses surrounding vulnerable EU citizens. We aim to provide a new understanding of vulnerable EU citizens as the social ghosts of our time by exploring how the concept of the social ghost and hauntology can be used to perform ethical critique of social injustice. By excavating examples from already gathered material, we explore the unseen within the already seen to critically examine how vulnerable EU citizens are constructed in social welfare narratives. We argue that the terminology of vulnerable EU citizens not only is constructed as uncanny and abject but also as social ghosts, denied a social and political identity and forced to haunt the margins of societal life. Moreover, we argue that the Swedish state becomes a site for necropolitical power, enabling but also perpetuating lingering violent effects on Roma people.
Due to the heterogeneity of homicide, certain subtypes of homicide might have remained stable or even increased over time in the overall context of decline. Adding to the research attempting to identify a standardized classification system of homicide, this study used a novel, sophisticated statistical approach (multilevel latent class analysis [MLCA]) and an inductive theoretical stance to identify subtypes of homicide in Scotland and to examine how these types have changed over time. Using variables relating to the victim, offender, and the incident of homicide, four between-level types with three within-level classes of offenders in each type were identified. The findings showed that while all homicide types demonstrated an absolute decrease, domestic homicides had demonstrated a relative increase over time. Implications for policy, theory, and practice are discussed.
Although trends of violent crime have been examined for over a century, no previous study has examined the change of subtypes of violence over time. This study therefore aims to identify subtypes of violence in Scotland, where violence levels have decreased from one of the highest in Europe to one of the lowest, based on variables relating to the victim, offender, and incident, and to examine how these subtypes have changed over time. Four main types of violence were identified using multilevel latent class analysis on Scottish Crime and Justice Survey data: public no weapon, public weapon, work-related, and domestic. The findings show that although all types of violence have demonstrated an absolute decrease over time, Domestic and work-related violence have demonstrated relative increases over time. The findings are discussed in relation to the inequality of this decrease and propose guidelines for future prevention policies.
The lack of information about the relationship between homicide and violence was identified as a gap in knowledge almost 30 years ago. Despite this, little research has been conducted worldwide regarding this relationship on a national level since then, and the results of that research have been very contradictory. This lack of research includes Scotland, despite its unenviable reputation of being the most violent country in the Western world. In order to fill this gap in research, this paper aims to examine the changing characteristics and patterns of homicide in Scotland and to determine the extent to which changes in homicide reflect the changing characteristics and patterns in wider violence.
Due to the heterogeneity of homicide, certain subtypes of homicide and violence might have remained stable or even increased over time in the overall context of violence decline. In order to examine the relationship between homicide and violence in Scotland, subtypes of both homicide and violence were identified and compared over time, using a novel, sophisticated statistical approach (MLCA). Using variables relating to the offender, victim and the incident, the study identified four main types of homicide and four main types of violence. While there are some differences in the subtypes identified, the overall trends in these two crimes seem to follow a similar pattern over time. A key finding from this study is that the general decrease in both homicide and violence was driven by a reduction in the same type of violence, namely violence committed by young men in public places and involving the use of sharp instruments. However, this general decrease in violence masks a hidden relative increase in both lethal and non-lethal forms of domestic violence over time. This provides valuable insights for policy as well as increasing our understanding of the complexities of violent crime.
Over 25 years ago, the relationship between homicide and serious violence was identified as an area that required more research. Despite this, little research has been conducted regarding this relationship on a national level since then. It has furthermore not been examined in Scotland, despite Scotland’s unenviable reputation of being the most violent country in the developed world. Even so, many studies assume that there is a relationship between the trends in homicide and the trends in serious violence, considering homicide the extreme end of a violence spectrum. This might be potentially problematic if homicide is not representative of the levels of violence within a country.This paper presents the initial steps towards examining the relationship between homicide and serious violence, including sexual violence, in Scotland. The comparison of the trends and patterns of homicide and serious violence holds important implications for both policy as well as theory. Comparative research regarding homicide and serious violence can have profound implications for the effective distribution of resources, violence reduction and policy making. Furthermore, this research highlights the need of disaggregation of homicide as well as providing a deeper understanding of how different violent crimes are interconnected within a society.
Despite the devastating impact homicide and serious violence has on society as well as on the community, very little research has been conducted about the relationship between these two crimes over time. Despite this lack of research, scholars however still make unsupported assumptions regarding this relationship.This is problematic since these assumptions are used to underpin theoretical explanations of the decline in both homicide as well as other crime, without any reliable knowledge of the nature of this relationship. If an effective explanation of the decline in homicide is to be obtained, it is vital that the relationship between the trends in homicide and serious violence is examined further. This paper presents the initial steps towards gaining a deeper understanding for trends in homicide and violence over time in Scotland. The paper will be examining initial, descriptive findings and underlining the need for disaggregation of homicide, as well as violence. Research has demonstrated that homicide would be more adequately measured by a multidimensional construct, and that such disaggregation can reveal counter-trends in the data that were previously hidden. If homicide and violence are operationalized as multidimensional constructs, differences and similarities between these two types of crimes could be revealed that were previously obscured. Not only would this provide more detailed information regarding both homicide and violence, but this would also greatly enhance the knowledge regarding how these two crimes are related over time. While some types of homicide might have decreased in line with the aggregate trend of homicide in Scotland, some types of homicide or serious violence might have remained stable or even decreased. In order to examine this relationship further and to get a deeper understanding of homicide, both homicide and violence therefore need to be disaggregated into subtypes before being compared over time.
Homicide: Towards a Deeper Understanding offers an in-depth analysis into the phenomenon of homicide, examining different types of homicide and how these types have changed over time. Based on original analysis on Scottish data, this book draws upon an international body of research to contextualize the findings in a global setting, filling an important gap in the homicide literature pertaining to the relationship between trends in homicide and violence. Examining homicide from gendered as well as Gothic perspectives, this book also relates homicide to novel, critical theory. The book covers a thorough description of different types of homicide, including sexual homicide, and provides an explorative approach to the identification of homicide subtypes. The book also explores how these findings relate to current homicide theory, and proposes a new theoretical framework to gain a deeper understanding of this crime. The main argument of the book is that if homicide and its relationship to wider violence is to be fully understood, theoretically as well as empirically, this crime needs to be disaggregated in a way that reflects the underlying data. Overall, this book therefore fills an important gap in criminological literature, providing an in-depth understanding of one of the most serious violent crimes.
Although violence among youth remains an important, global issue, little research has been conducted regarding how young people themselves define violence and what practices in relation to violence that are evident in their everyday lives. Using an intersectional gender perspective, specifically exploring the intersection of gender, age, and class, this paper therefore aims to explore how young people define violence, as well as to explore what practices in relation to violence that are evident in young people’s everyday lives. By using a photovoice methodology, 11 focus groups of young boys and girls (17–19 years old) living in two municipalities in northern Sweden were interviewed and asked to take photographs representing themes that were discussed. Overall, three main themes in the young peoples’ stories were identified: Violence as ubiquitous, Easy prey and dangerous predators, and The way forward. The findings demonstrated that violence is pervasive, all-encompassing and normalized in young people’s everyday lives, and that this violence is moderated by intersecting power orders of gender, age, and class. Any future theoretical frameworks or prevention strategies should therefore aim to include an intersectional perspective as well as including the voices of the youths themselves.
Sexual child homicides are rare, even among sexual homicides, and no previous study has compared sexual child homicide with nonsexual child homicides. To address this gap in research, this study aims to compare sexual child homicide offenders (n = 8) with two comparison groups: sexual adult homicide offenders (n = 89) and nonsexual child homicide offenders (n = 176) regarding victim, offender, and modus operandi factors. Using bivariate analysis, the results show that although sexual child homicide offenders appear more similar to other sexual homicide offenders than to homicide offenders, sexual offenders targeting children differ from both groups on certain variables. Sexual child homicide offenders more often used strangulation as a method of killing, had intoxicated victims, used multiple locations, and destroyed evidence after the murder. The study concludes that sexual homicide offenders targeting children should be considered distinct from other offenders and that the salient characteristics linked to sadism and instrumentality should be further examined.
The lack of information about the relationship between homicide and violence was identified as a gap in knowledge over 25 years ago. Despite this, little research has been conducted regarding this relationship on a national level since then. It has not been examined in Scotland either, despite Scotland’s apparent reputation of being the most violent country in the developed world. Even so, many studies assume that there is a relationship between the trends in homicide and the trends in serious violence, considering homicide the extreme end of a violence spectrum. However, this might be potentially problematic if homicide is not representative of the levels of violence within a country. This paper presents the initial steps towards examining the relationship between homicide and serious violence, including sexual violence, in Scotland. The comparison of the trends and patterns of homicide and serious violence holds important implications for several reasons. Not only is comparative research regarding homicide and serious violence important since these two crimes have profound implications regarding stress placed on emergency systems, as well as the health of the family and community, but if homicide could be regarded as representative of serious violence in a country, it could have valuable insights for organisations such as the police and policy makers. This information could have beneficial implications in terms of directing policy or resources to where they are most needed, as well as making the distribution of these resources more efficient. Additionally, there are valuable substantive insights to be gained from knowing the extent to which homicide is representative of serious violence in a country, since it provides a deeper understanding of how different violent crimes are interconnected within a society.
Research on female sexual homicide has been very scarce. In Europe, it has rarely been examined, and in Scotland, it has never previously been studied. This exploratory study aims to examine the characteristics of sexual homicides involving female offenders between 1990 and 2015 in Scotland. Using data from the Scottish Homicide Database between 1990 and 2015, female sexual homicides (n = 7) were compared to nonsexual homicides committed by females (n = 106) and to sexual homicides committed by men (n = 89) using Fisher’s exact tests. The findings show that although female sexual homicide offenders are similar to both female nonsexual homicide offenders and male sexual homicide offenders in certain aspects, there are important differences that distinguish sexual homicides involving female offenders from both groups. Female sexual homicide offenders can arguably be seen as a distinct group of offenders, with specific characteristics and specific needs.
While a number of previous studies have compared sexual homicides to nonlethal sexual offenses, there have been few studies comparing sexual and nonsexual homicides. This study examines whether sexual homicide offenders differ from nonsexual homicide offenders in Scotland regarding characteristics of the offender, the victim, and the homicide incident. Unlike previous studies, only homicides committed by males against females were examined. Data from a national police database were used to compare 89 male sexual homicide offenders who killed adult females with 306 male nonsexual homicide offenders who had also killed adult females using bivariate and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses. The findings revealed not only some similarities between the two groups, particularly regarding some victim variables, but also significant bivariate and multivariate differences. Sexual homicides appeared to be associated with indicators of instrumentality and sexual deviance. We conclude that sexual homicide offenders might be considered a distinct group of homicide offenders, more similar to sexual offenders than to other homicide offenders.
Although similar subtypes of sexual homicide have been described crossnationally, no study has directly examined whether two samples from different jurisdictions are comparable. This study therefore aimed to examine whether any substantively meaningful subtypes of sexual homicide cases could be identified in each sample, and if so, whether these subtypes were similar across jurisdictions. Two samples of male sexual homicide offenders were compared: a Scottish sample (n=89) and a Canadian sample (n=150). Subtypes were identified in each sample using LCA, identifying a 3-class solution in each sample. Despite differences between samples on the bivariate level, two very similar subtypes (Controlled-Organized and Diverse) emerged in both samples. Despite differences at the bivariate level, the similarities at the multivariate level indicate similarities in underlying offence pathways which underpin heterogeneity in sexual homicide offenders. The similarities between the subtypes identified suggests potential universality of types of sexual homicides cross-nationally.
This article examines narratives by professionals working on preventing gender-based violence in Sweden through a Gothic lens. It draws on interviews with authorities responsible for preventing gender-based violence in one region of Sweden and explores the way national policies are translated into regional action. Our analysis shows how the “reel” is adopted by the professionals and becomes a part of the “real,” resulting in implications for policy. By looking at the participants’ narratives through a Gothic lens, this article argues that local-level professionals working to prevent violence frame gender-based violence as a problem of two “othered” groups: the “Immigrant Other” and the “Rural Other.” Through a narratological strategy of illumination and obscurity, these groups of offenders are rendered both uncanny and monstrous by the respondents—a monstrosity that obscures any violence occurring outside this framing. The problem of gender-based violence is relegated from the site of the mundane to the sphere of the monstrous.
This chapter will provide a critical analysis of the highly influential Playable Teaser (P.T.) for the now-canceled game Silent Hills. The aim of this chapter is to critically examine the narratives of domestic violence in P.T., interrogating the portrayal of perpetrators of such violence and how this relates to the public imaginary of domestic violence. This chapter will argue that not only is domestic violence central to the narrative of P.T., but by rooting domestic violence in the mundane, the game also provides a critique against the Othering of domestic violence perpetrators commonly found in popular culture narratives. Drawing on popular criminology and inspiration from ghost ethnography, this chapter will also explore the lingering societal impact of P.T. as a cultural text, particularly considering the precariousness of P.T. as a canceled and deleted game. Overall, P.T. provides an important critique against the Othering and demonization of domestic violence perpetrators commonly found in the public imaginary of such violence, allowing for a critical, more nuanced understanding of offending behavior.
More than mere entertainment, video games can be studied as cultural texts, relevant for the interpretation and understanding of the public imaginary relating to crime. Drawing on ideas of Gothic and popular criminology and using a critical lens of hauntology, this study aims to explore themes of carcerality in the video game The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. By constructing the text of Majora’s Mask as a horror game, and a cultural text ‘in distress’, encompassing a crypt incorporating a phantom of past trauma, this paper identifies themes of carceral violence within the text as symptomatic of a deep, haunting disillusionment of carceral justice. Relating back to the culture and context in which the game was created, we argue that this cultural text is ‘haunted’ by the trauma of lost ideals in relation to punishment; a deep disillusionment towards a carceral machinery producing the socially dead instead of rehabilitating them.
This study examines homicide trends in seven European countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland – all of which manifested a substantial drop in homicide mortality between 1990 and 2016. By using data from the European Homicide Monitor, a coding scheme created to enable cross-country comparisons, combined with the national cause-of-death statistics, we explore generality versus specificity of the homicide drop. We examine changes in the demographic structure of victims and offenders and disaggregate homicides by different subtypes of lethal incidents, such as family-related homicides referring to conflicts between family members, and criminal milieu homicides occurring in the context of robberies, gang-related conflicts or organised crime. Results point to the generality of the drop: in most of the countries studied, the declining trend included all homicide types. The overall decline in homicide mortality was driven mostly by the decline in male victimisation and offending. In most of the countries, the gender distribution of victims and offenders changed only slightly during the study period, whereas the development of the distribution of homicide types manifested greater diversity. Our findings illustrate the benefits of disaggregated analyses in comparative homicide research.