Citation

Sela-Shayovitz R. Violence Vict. 2021; 36(3): 347-362.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/VV-D-19-00087

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Homicide-suicide is a violent crime primarily committed within intimate relationships. Although increasing attention is being paid to femicide-suicide, there is limited comparative evidence about this crime. This article examines the differences and similarities in offender and victim characteristics between two types of femicide, femicide-suicide and femicide, among various social groups in Israel. The sample comprised all incidents of femicide and femicide-suicide (145) between 2005 and 2015. The analysis indicates that immigration plays a key role in both femicide and femicide-suicide. Femicide-suicide rates were significantly higher among immigrants than among Israeli-native Jews and Arabs. A significant relationship was found between femicide type and the method used to commit the crime: the likelihood that a firearm was used in femicide-suicide cases was 11.08 times higher than in femicide cases. The discussion focuses on the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and suggests prevention strategies.

Language: en

Keywords

offenders; femicide; ethnicity; femicide-suicide; immigrants; victims