Gendered Entitlement or Generally Violent? Sociodemographic, Developmental, and Gender-Based Attitudinal Characteristics of Men Who Commit Homicide

• Published date: 01 August 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221079801
• Author: Li Eriksson,Samara McPhedran,Paul Mazerolle,Richard Wortley
• Date: 01 August 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221079801

Homicide Studies

2023, Vol. 27(3) 384 –402

© 2022 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/10887679221079801

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Article

Gendered Entitlement

or Generally Violent?

Sociodemographic,

Developmental, and

Gender-Based Attitudinal

Characteristics of Men

Who Commit Homicide

Li Eriksson1, Samara McPhedran2,

Paul Mazerolle3, and Richard Wortley4

Abstract

The study examined “gendered” and “general” factors associated with homicide

using interviews with men convicted of murder or manslaughter in Australia. We

compared men committing intimate partner femicide (IPF; n = 68) with men killing

female non-intimate partners (MF; n = 44) and male non-intimate partners (MM;

n = 135). They shared developmental and socio-economic characteristics. MM men

reported extensive criminal histories and serious substance problems compared with

IPF men. Many IPF men had perpetrated partner violence. Similarities existed across

jealousy and marital role attitudes, though IPF men more likely condoned wife abuse

and behaviorally controlled partners. Policies informed by complexity and diversity

are important.

Keywords

intimate partner, victim/offender relationship, femicide, gender, criminal careers,

alcohol, correlates, drugs, correlates

1Griffith University, Southport, QLD, Australia

2Queensland Homicide Victim Support Group, Kedron, Australia

3University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada

4University College London, UK

Corresponding Author:

Li Eriksson, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Southport,

QLD 4125, Australia.

Email: l.eriksson@griffith.edu.au

1079801HSXXXX10.1177/10887679221079801Homicide StudiesEriksson et al.

research-article2022

Eriksson et al. 385

One in seven homicides globally are perpetrated by intimate partners, with the likeli-

hood of intimate partner homicide victimization higher for women than for men

(Stöckl et al., 2013). In Australia, where the current study takes place, one in five

homicides are perpetrated by intimate partners, with 75% of intimate partner homicide

victims comprising women (Cussen & Bryant, 2015). Improving the knowledge base

about intimate partner violence-related homicide is a key strategy for informing ongo-

ing policy development aimed at better understanding risk factors and interventions,

with the overarching goal of reducing lethal violence against women. Yet despite a

growing body of research examining pathways to homicide, the literature remains

divided on whether men who kill their female intimate partners should be considered

a distinct “category” of individuals who commit homicide relative to those who kill,

for example, friends/acquaintances or strangers (e.g., Decker, 1993; Dobash et al.,

2004; Eriksson et al., 2019; Felson & Lane, 2010; Miethe & Regoeczi, 2004).

To inform prevention and intervention policies, it is crucial to understand the con-

tributors to lethal violence. To date, however, empirical research into men’s lethal

violence against female partners tends to draw on either a gendered perspective

(emphasizing constructs such as entitlement, sexual jealousy, and gender role atti-

tudes) or a general perspective of violence (emphasizing factors such as developmen-

tal experiences, low self-control, and criminal history). However, it is plausible that a

combination of both gendered and general factors may be present, jointly contributing

to men’s homicide offending.

Some scholars emphasize men’s violence against their intimate partners as a func-

tion of patriarchal gender structures, male entitlement, and proprietary attitudes (e.g.,

Daly & Chesney-Lind, 1988; Daly & Wilson, 1988; Dobash & Dobash, 1979; Heise

& Kotsadam, 2015; Pence & Paymar, 1993; Taylor & Jasinski, 2011). Within this

framework, both non-lethal and lethal intimate partner violence (IPV) against women

have long been recognized as unquestionably gendered crimes. The underlying

assumption is that men who kill their intimate partners differ to men who kill others in

terms of certain attitudes and traits. Much empirical research supports this view. For

example, data from the Murder in Britain study show significant psychosocial differ-

ences across the life course between men who kill intimate partners and men who kill

other men (Dobash & Dobash, 2015; Dobash et al., 2004). These data reveal that men

who kill other men are more likely to have problematic upbringings (e.g., a violent

father), early contact with criminal justice agencies, and alcohol and drug problems,

while men who kill intimate partners are more likely to display a history of violence

perpetration in past relationships. Findings such as these support the view that men

who kill their female intimate partners represent a subcategory or type of person who

commits homicide.

Importantly though, while such factors as entitlement, sexual jealousy, and belief

in traditional gender roles, which are known to be associated with intimate partner

femicide (IPF), might be strongly “gendered,” a range of more “general” perpetrator

characteristics, including a history of childhood abuse and/or neglect coupled with

poor (or absent) parenting, compromised emotional functioning, negative/dysfunc-

tional attachment style, socioeconomic disadvantage, and substance abuse, may also