Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-102).

M.A. / According to the Department of Correctional Services 1368 women were imprisoned on charges of culpable homicide, murder and attempted murder in 2001. In 2002 this figure came to 1136, meaning that a total of 2 504 women are currently serving sentences for the above mentioned crimes in South African prisons. Yet the judicial and psychological issues surrounding female murderers go largely unexplored (Dept. of Correctional Services, 6 September 2002).Debbie Jones, founder of the Heartwork Foundation dealing specifically with women in prison, also believes that the growing awareness surrounding women who kill partners in an abusive relationship is due largely to the new focus on human rights. This creates a space for raising this issue through providing a platform for organizations such as People Opposed to Women Abuse (POWA) to highlight the plight of an, up to now, marginalized group. The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation has added to this focus through their study of sentencing practices in relation to women who commit murder (Personal interview, D. Jones, 23 May 2003).The perennial fascination with violent crime and particularly murder, ensures a steady outpouring of material on the subject- be it in the form of newspaper articles, magazine features, empirical studies or biographies of notorious killers. However, this coverage is always selective and piecemeal, certainly never a solid basis for generalization. What they reveal tends to be more the preoccupations of the era than the major social trends (Cameron & Frazer, 1988). This study attempts to draw together the diverse views and information on female murder to create a unified picture of this occurrence. As shown by the various studies it is dangerous to construct a picture of a typical female killer against whom all others are measured judicially (Vetten & Ngwane, 2002). The context surrounding these crimes is therefore of paramount importance. This study is therefore not only valuable in drawing together divergent reports on women who commit murder but also to provide a possible guideline for future restructuring and reframing of the judicial and societal processes surrounding women who kill. It attempts to portray a South African picture of a hitherto unstudied area namely women who kill in the unique South African surroundings.

No description available.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 270-278). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2005. / Thesis directed by Sandra Gustafson for the Department of English. "June 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 330-350).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2005. / Thesis directed by Sandra Gustafson for the Department of English. "June 2005." Thesis also available in PDF file via the Internet. Access may be restricted or require Notre Dame logon. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 330-350).

Thesis (M.A. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo / The aim of the current study was to explore and describe the views on child homicide by mothers. The qualitative research approach, and in particular the phenomenological method of inquiry was used. A sample of seventeen mothers (with ages ranging from thirteen to fifty three years) was drawn from four female correctional centres in South Africa, namely; Thohoyandou (Limpopo Province), Polokwane (Limpopo Province), Johannesburg correctional centre (Gauteng Province) and Durban Westville correctional centre (KwaZulu-Natal Province). The sample was obtained through purposive sampling. All the participants were interviewed using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the phenomenological method. The themes that emerged from data analysis were: a) Motives for child homicide; b) Type of methods used in child homicide; and, c) Pre- and post-homicidal ideations and behaviour. The study revealed that there were different motives leading mothers to commit child homicide. These included: child homicide as a result of everyday stressors that the mothers encountered;child homicide as an act of altruism; child homicide to gain acceptance; perpetrators of child homicide as victims of abuse; child homicide as accidental; child homicide attributed to witchcraft; and, mental illness as amotive for child homicide. The study also highlighted different types of methods used by the mothers to commit child homicide. The methods included: the use of weapons; hitting, dropping and strangling; suffocation; drowning; and, poisoning. The findings also suggested that pre-homicidal ideations and behaviour of the participants were associated with anger, depression, frustration and self blame. The participants showed post-homicidal ideations and behaviour such as remorse, regret and guilt, whilst others felt a sense of relief and were somehow hopeful about the future. The study is concluded by making recommendations for further research on child homicide based on larger samples.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Adviser: Peter L. Larson. Includes bibliographical references (p. 170-183).

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

D.Litt. et Phil. / The present study explores the experiences of abused women who kill their intimate male partners and are imprisoned as a result. It looks at the multiple traumas associated with the abuse, killing and imprisonment. Abuse of women violates their right of freedom and security, as well as the right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The experiences are explored within a prison context in which these women are serving hefty sentences as a means of punishment. This is a means of prosecuting perpetrators by the criminal justice system, thus sending out a message that violence is unacceptable. The prison context is metaphorically and physically associated with phenomenon such as isolation, control, labelling, punishment, reform and rehabilitation, among many others. Social Constructionism as a postmodern epistemology becomes relevant in this study in that the concern is in explicating the process by which people come to describe, explain, or otherwise account for the world (including themselves) in which they live. Therefore, the abused women’s experiences are descriptions to be understood through the analysis of the intersubjective influence of language, family, and culture. The implication being that social construction reflects on that which is said about the world, which is the product of shared conventions of discourse that are guided by and limited by the systems of language that we use. Our understandings of reality are embedded in our patterns of action, and these understandings constrain future constructions. Language as an important tool in social constructionism is embedded in the ideas, concepts and memories arising from social discourse and is found in neither the speaker nor the hearer, but somewhere in between. Furthermore, the context of prison afforded me with the opportunity to experience a sense of communality with the women, which according to a social constructionist stance suggests that reality is co-created between people in their quest for meaning from the interpreted experiences. There is no absolute truth that represents its objectivity, implying that as the researcher, I am not entering the system searching for some single truth that is ultimate. This acknowledges that there are realities and reflexivity of events and situations that look for many alternatives deconstructed and constructed equally between the researcher and participants. In conducting this study, a qualitative method of research was used, which focuses on the description, exploration and elaboration of experiences and perspectives of the people being interviewed. The qualitative method is not concerned with numbers and statistical analysis in the way that the quantitative method is. The participants take active charge in describing and exploring experiences that bring about meaning to them and the study. The researcher is equally involved as the participants, and becomes the participant observer. Whilst the focus was directed towards experiences of abuse and the multiple implications of trauma on abused women, the larger social context of their experiences was acknowledged. Five women offenders who are in the Potchefstroom prison, participated in this research. The women were allowed to elaborate on their experiences as experts in their own lives. Through this interaction a relational process of sharing and support emerges, which is characteristic of therapeutic practices with social constructionism. In-depth semi-structured interviews provided a means to explore their incidents of abuse as perpetrated by their intimate male partners. For the purpose of collecting data, an open-ended questionnaire was used. A thematic content method was used to analyse data. Here themes are identified that represent the meaning of events constructed by the participants themselves. A thematic analysis reflected the following themes: Loss and gain, power and helplessness, hope and despair as well as connection and disconnection. Upon the identification and analysis of themes, the discussion of findings which are integrated using the social constructionist theory, was conducted. From the findings the implications of multiple traumas abused women suffer at the hands of their intimate male partners, and the result of killing and imprisonment, are explored.