NCJ Number
134281
Journal
Law and Society Review Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: (1991) Pages: 287-311
Date Published
1991
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Information form 670 cases in which females were murdered in Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia between 1921 and 1988 was analyzed to determine how well the conventional perspectives on homicide account for the social distribution of femicide.
Abstract
The conventional views are that homicides rates vary according to opportunities and motives. An alternative perspective acknowledges both the intimate, domestic character of homicides of females and the historically contingent nature of opportunities and motivations for these homicides. The data provided stronger support for this alternative perspectives than for the conventional perspectives. Thus, rather than coming to resemble male homicide, femicide remains as concentrated in private, domestic locations and relationships as it was 70 years ago. However, the relationships between femicide and some social statuses, such as female employment, have changed over time. Tables, footnotes, and 25 references (Author abstract modified)