Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Comm Arts & Science Media & Information Studies, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed July 17, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 164-176). Also issued in print.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

The term femicide was used to refer to the murder of women. Intimate femicide referred to the murder of women by men with whom they had an intimate love relationship. The purpose of this research was to make visible the intimate and domestic nature of femicide by describing all femicides in Saskatchewan between 1988 and 1992 inclusive. A second purpose of this research was to learn about prevention both from committed femicides and from two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicide. This research was feminist in nature and utilized elements of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Data were gathered on all women known to be murdered between 1988 and 1992 from sources such as newspaper searches, coroners' reports, and police files. Based on these data, femicides were classified as intimate or non-intimate femicides and as possibly preventable or not preventable within the femicidal incident itself. Further data were gathered from interviews with two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicidal attack. Both sets of data were then reviewed and themes relating to the prevention of femicide were elicited. These themes focussed on failures of the communities in which these women resided or were murdered, failures of the medical community to correctly identify femicidal men, failures of the judicial system in their dealings with femicidal men, failures of the organized church, and failures of the institution of the family. Ten femicides were classified as possibly preventable within the femicidal assault itself. In addition, the interviews with both survivors identified many areas of possible intervention relating to prevention over a longer period of time. The study concludes with my reflections on the process of engaging in research on femicide, discussions about areas for further research and the identification of possible implications for public policy.

The term femicide was used to refer to the murder of women. Intimate femicide referred to the murder of women by men with whom they had an intimate love relationship. The purpose of this research was to make visible the intimate and domestic nature of femicide by describing all femicides in Saskatchewan between 1988 and 1992 inclusive. A second purpose of this research was to learn about prevention both from committed femicides and from two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicide. This research was feminist in nature and utilized elements of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Data were gathered on all women known to be murdered between 1988 and 1992 from sources such as newspaper searches, coroners' reports, and police files. Based on these data, femicides were classified as intimate or non-intimate femicides and as possibly preventable or not preventable within the femicidal incident itself. Further data were gathered from interviews with two women who had survived an attempted intimate femicidal attack. Both sets of data were then reviewed and themes relating to the prevention of femicide were elicited. These themes focussed on failures of the communities in which these women resided or were murdered, failures of the medical community to correctly identify femicidal men, failures of the judicial system in their dealings with femicidal men, failures of the organized church, and failures of the institution of the family. Ten femicides were classified as possibly preventable within the femicidal assault itself. In addition, the interviews with both survivors identified many areas of possible intervention relating to prevention over a longer period of time. The study concludes with my reflections on the process of engaging in research on femicide, discussions about areas for further research and the identification of possible implications for public policy.

Research on murder-suicide within the South African context has been limited with the last published study in 1992 (Roos, Beyers, & Visser, 1992). This particular study investigated the phenomenon of murder-suicide in the city of Durban using techniques previously applied in a broad range of international studies (Berman, 1979; Cooper & Eaves, 1996; Rosenbaum, 1990). The study served as a pilot for a broader national study. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the incidence of murder-suicide in the sample and to generate demographic profiles of perpetrators and victims. It was hoped that the results from this study would pioneer the development of accurate base rates of murder-suicide in South Africa as there are currently no statistics of South African murder-suicide rates or characteristics. The sample consisted of 21 murder-suicide cases with 43 individuals in total having died from the murder-suicide events. The sample covered all murder-suicides in the Durban Metro area over the years 2000 and 2001. A Durban Metro Murder-Suicide Incidence Form was used to collect the data from post mortem examination reports at Gale Street Mortuary. Corresponding police reports where available substantiated this data. The incident rate of murder-suicide in Durban over the two-year period was found to be higher than the international average. This may be attributed to the violent social context in which the study took place. The reliability of this finding would be influenced by the small sample size. Typical profiles of perpetrators and victims were generated. The typical profile of a perpetrator was found to be a Black male aged 32 years with a secondary school education and currently unemployed or working in the police or security sector. He was typically be the boyfriend or spouse of the victim and committed the homicide and suicide using a firearm. The typical profile of a victim was a Black female aged 26 years with at least a secondary school education and currently unemployed. She was typically the spouse or girlfriend of the perpetrator. Her death would usually be attributed to multiple gunshot wounds to the head or chest. The findings suggest that Durban's murder-suicides profiles follow similar patterns to those observed internationally. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.