Homicide suicide (HS) is rare phenomenon where an individual kills one or more people
and then commits suicide, normally within a week or less. The suicide must be related to
the homicide in order for it to be classified as a HS event. In South Africa, there is no
national surveillance system tracking HS events which makes researching this
phenomenon difficult. As a result, little research has been conducted in South Africa.
This study aimed to determine, through media reports, the annual incident rates, the
demographic profiles of the perpetrator and victims involved and the various features of
HS in South Africa from 2002 to 2009. The findings of the present study are also
compared to other international and national findings. This quantitative study analysed
328 HS events that were reported in nine national newspapers over an eight-year period.
The results found that the typical South African HS perpetrator reported in the media is
likely to be 37 years of age, male and black African. He would most likely be employed
in the security sector and his victim would typically be a 25 year old, would be an
intimate partner. Shooting was the most common method for the homicide and the
suicide in HS events. The study concluded that the general demographics and patterns
were similar to national and international studies. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/7518 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Skead, Laura. |
| Contributors | Wassenaar, Douglas Richard. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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