“There is every reason to believe that infanticide is as old as human society itself” (Meyer and Oberman 2001, p. 1). Society has a history of changing and developing as the ideas of people change and grow. History suggests that filicide is present in every culture and as stated by Meyer and Oberman, has been as present as long as humans have occupied the earth. In many cultures, the intentional death of children was supported within hospitals if the child had disabilities, or birth defects. The Groningen Protocol was a protocol regarding the euthanization of babies that were dying, or had defects, in the Groningen University Medical Center in the Netherlands. They had divided the requirements for this euthanasia into three different categories: the baby will die, the babies future is bleak after intense attempts at life saving treatment, or their suffering will be constant and never be eliminated (Pushing Infanticide, 2008). In some places in the past, infanticide and child euthanasia have been accepted practices, but it it denounced in the United States in today’s society.
Filicide by definition is the killing of ones own child, and even though society views filicide as a horrifying and rare incident, there are approximately 300 incidents in the U.S every year (Mckee, 26). This fact is alarming, especially because of the way that society has, and continues to view filicide. Even though most parents worry about their children being harmed by strangers, the most likely perpetrator towards the chid is their own parents (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). From 1976-2004 in the United States, 30% of children murdered under the age of five, were killed by their own mothers (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). This is incredibly shocking and disrupting to society. Mothers are typically viewed as nurturing and loving, and would be least expected to harm their children. Women have a higher expectation as mothers on how they should act and perform their mothering duties then men do. If anything, it would be expected that their fathers would be the cause of their injuries or deaths. As explained by Pagelow, “child murder by parents (filicide) is one of the most upsetting types of crime. It is even more distressing when a mother kills her child than when a father does, because we expect mothers to be selfless and to love and protect their children at all costs” (1984). This is not necessarily correct because according to a study by Friedman and Resnick, 70% of mothers have aggressive fantasies during their child’s colic episodes, and 26% have filicidal fantasies (2006). Most of the mothers who actually commit filicide are typically the only full time caregivers of their children, and they are of lower socio-economic status, participate in substance abuse and were, or continue to be, victims of domestic violence (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). Infanticide disrupts the social order, and could be viewed as a product of the decay of society in the United States; however, the United States has the highest child murder rate out of the developed countries. Filicide is a horrendous and tragic event that can be labeled into many reasons, typologies, and be understood through case studies; however, it is also important to discuss prevention methods through comparing the United States to other developed countries. Even though it may not be a current topic of discussion within western society, it is a very important issue that needs to be addressed and changed.
In order to address the societal changes that need to be made to prevent filicide, one must understand why it happens. This topic is incredibly complex and profound, and can not be completely covered in one paper. Each case of filicide is different and must be looked at as so, but they can be narrowed down into general reasons for why it happened. The main reasons include: abuse, neglect, accidental killing, unwanted pregnancy, pregnancy from rape or an abusive relationship, single mothers, poverty, mental illness, or being overwhelmed by responsibility (Clayton, 2009). A majority of these women are trapped in the cycle of abuse, as they were abused or neglected themselves by their parents or guardians, and now potentially their husbands. Mental illness is an overwhelmingly large factor in filicide by mothers. According to Clayton “psychotic mothers sometimes believe their children are demons, and depression can lead to filicide-suicide” (2009). Psychotic mothers are not the only types of mothers with mental illness that commit filicide; some other mental illnesses that have caused mothers to kill their offspring are manic and delirious depression (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). Furthermore, the different types of depression and psychotic illnesses cause different actions. In a New Zealand study, it explained that the majority of the mothers who suffered from psychotic issues, they did not have a predisposed idea of what they were going to do. On the other hand, depressed mothers typically have a plan many days, or even weeks in advance (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). This brings to light the idea that women are afraid to seek help when they have violent thoughts towards their children, due to fear of judgement, or wore, losing their children (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). Furthermore, it is a very difficult topic to discuss as a psychiatrist, it can be uncomfortable and scary for both parties to discuss (Friedman and Resnick, 2006). The stigma towards mental illness is also rampant even in today’s society, making it even harder to talk about.There are many complex reasons that women resort to taking the lives of their children, and no two cases are exactly the same.
There are many well known cases of filicide in the United States, especially due to its abnormal occurrence. If the name Casey Anthony is mentioned, the majority of people will know of her case, or at least have heard her name. Anthony murdered her three year old child, and allegedly inscribed in her personal diary that she “[had] no regrets” (Clayton, 2009). Another famous case of filicide in the United States is Andrea Yates, and the murder of her five children. Yates drowned all of her children who aged from six months, to seven years old in the bathtub of her home (Resnick, 2016). She was a strange case compared to most filicide cases that are caused by poverty, depression and other similar mental illnesses. She was a successful woman throughout her entire life, held a career as a nurse, and was regarded as a great mother by her peers (Resnick, 2016). After Yates gave birth to her fourth child, she thought that Satan wanted to murder her children, and that people were watching and judging her parenting skills. Due to this paranoia, she felt as if she was going to ruin her children, and that killing them would still give them a chance to go to heaven because Satan would burn as they died (Resnick, 2016). She was found not guilty by reasons of insanity in 2006, which is an incredibly difficult acquisition to achieve (Resnick, 2016). In this case, Yates could have been put in psychiatric care in order to prevent the death of her children if someone had noticed her obsessive paranoia, or if she had confided her violent thoughts with a doctor. Not every case can be prevented, by the Yates filicide could have been. A contrasting example would be that of a woman deemed as “Mary” by Meyer and Oberman. She was in her early twenties when she was raped by a friend of the family, and became pregnant with her fourth child (Roslyn, 2012). Mary was ashamed of her pregnancy and hid it from everyone around her. She gave birth in the bathroom of the relatives house that she was living in; however, she does not recall any of the event. She only remembers burying her daughter in the back yard, and later it was discovered that the newborn died of suffocation (Roslyn, 2012). This contrasts significantly to the case of Yates because Mary did not plan on committing the act of filicide. Her actions were not predisposed, and happened in the moment out of panic and horror for what had occurred. Yates on the other hand had obviously thought for years about the murder of her children, yet she did so believing that she was helping them get to heaven, due to her mental illness. Furthermore, Meyer and Oberman also discussed a woman by the name of “Linda” who killed her two children, and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Linda was a victim of sexual and physical abuse her entire life, and did not have a high level of education (Roslyn, 2012). Her boyfriend got her pregnant at the age of eighteen, and they wed and then divorced soon after. Her ex-husband then started stalking and repeatedly threatening her. One day she left her apartment and left the space heater on in her children’s room where the bedding caught fire and subsequently killed both of the children sleeping there (Roslyn, 2012). Even though Linda did not purposefully kill her children, she is still convicted, and is considered a criminal of filicide. This is because she was of low economic status, and trapped in the cycle of abuse which left her a single mother with no help in supervising her children. These case studies of American women helps further the understanding of motives for filicide in different situations, as well as prevention methods that can be derived for the different types.
Maternal filicide is not strictly an issue in the United States. Many cultures and countries experience filicide, or a variation of it; however, not every country has the same issues and methods of filicide. Canada is a country that is close in proximity to the United States, as well as in culture. In both countries, most cases of child homicide are committed by the child’s parents (Dominique and Gagne, 2002). According to Shae and Geoffrey, in most english speaking countries, women who kill their children are “non-addicted, married, low-income, mentally ill, new or recent mothers under 30 who, acting alone and without weapons, kill only one of their children, likely of preschool age” (1998, p. 679). One outstanding difference is that in Canada, the majority of the parents committing the act of filicide were men at 38.5% (Dominique and Gagne, 2002). In the United States, women are the majority of the perpetrators. The two countries coincide with the age range of mothers who commit this crime, the average age in the United States was 29.3 years old, and Canada was 32.25 years old (Dominique and Gagne, 2002), (Shea and Geoffrey, 1998). Another distinction between studies of the two countries are that some of the women involved in the studies reported history of family abuse; however, American women reported 20% higher then Canadian women in this category (Dominique and Gagne, 2002), (Shea and Geoffrey, 1998). Shae and Geoffrey also compared women from the countries of England and Canada with the United States. The women involved in this research study were all of very low economic standing. Only 30% of the women involved in the study were employed at the time, they averaged 11 years of education, and an average full scale IQ of 88.43. 80% of women also reported a family income of less then $20,000 per year (Shea and Geoffrey, 1998). As well, in Shae and Geoffrey’s study, they reported that 41% of the women had prior issues with their mental health, and Dominique and Gagne reported that 85.2% of the mothers in their study had a psychiatric motive (1998) (2002). This proves that one of the outstanding reasons, or underlying causes for maternal filicide in the English speaking countries involved in these studies are poverty, and lack of education.
Asian countries are incredibly different in culture from most English speaking countries, and this is reflected in the way filicide occurs. In Taiwan, an overwhelming amount of filicides result in suicide by the mother as well. The preferred method to carry out this horrific act is charcoal burning, with an overwhelming 90% using this method (Pan, 2008). The cultural difference between Taiwan and most English speaking countries is exemplified here. Most English speaking countries do not have charcoal burning as a method of filicide, yet it is incredibly prevalent in Taiwan. This is due to the fact that charcoal is much more easily accessed in Taiwan then it would be in the United Staes, for example, because charcoal is available for sale at almost ever convenience store (Pan, 2008). Once it was available for sale in such easily accessible locations, most Asian countries saw a spike in not only filicide, but suicide by charcoal burning (Wei and Chen, 2014). Another difference is in the case studies from Taiwan, 33% of filicides were committed by the mother, 24% by the father, and 37% by both parents (Wei and Chen, 2014). This differs from the United States because in the US, single mothers are the most prevalent culprits of this particular crime. As explained further by Wei and Chen, “prevalence of both parents implies distinctive dynamics in local contexts” (2014, p. 470). This also relates to the fact that in Taiwan, the parents who commit this act tend to be older, whereas in the United States and other English speaking countries, the average age of the culprits is 29.3 years old (Wei and Chen, 2014) (Shea and Geoffrey, 1998). This is very different compared to the United States because it is not only typically new parents who commit filicide, it happens within the first few years of the child's life. Furthermore, the United States and Taiwan are similar because in Taiwan, financial difficulties were reported in 71% of the cases studies (Wei and Chen, 2014). In correlation, a Japanese study showed that the filicide rates between the years of 1994-2005, directly parallel the unemployment rates (Wei and Chen, 2014). It seems as though in most countries, regardless of culture, poverty and other financial difficulties are present in the lives of the majority of people that commit filicide. This is due to the fact that many people in this group have found themselves in poverty due to trauma throughout their live, drug addiction, and mental health issues. Objectively speaking, low income and poverty deprive the parents of sufficient resources to fulfill their basic needs and leave them struggling with survival issues.
There are some prevention methods that have been developed by researchers. They are somewhat vague; however, they can be helpful if properly implemented. For starters, through research it has been discerned that mothers who kill their children are not all the same, and should not be treated as if they are (Meyer and Oberman, 2001). There are no guaranteed way to make sure that this crime is prevented. Some suggestions by Meyer and Oberman include safe havens, and to educate women who are most likely to commit these types of crimes, as well as community places in areas of lower economic status. These places could provide support for mothers who are struggling emotionally, physically, mentally or economically (Meyer and Oberman, 2001). Community centers also could possibly provide drop off centers for women who do not have the ability to keep their children, or do not want to but have any other resources available to them. This would eliminate the types of filicide that are related to mothers having to hide their pregnancies, being ashamed of them, or not wanting to be mothers. The root of the issue of filicide goes much deeper then can be explained. The cycle of poverty and its connection to low levels of education are two of the main reasons discussed in relation to filicide. There is also a stigma in regards to mental health issues, especially when it comes to mothers. The social construction of what a mother is supposed to be, or supposed to act like puts mothers in an incredibly restricted position. This combined with western society’s stigma towards mental illness would make it virtually impossible for mothers to speak out about their violent feelings towards their children without being investigated harshly, or even having their children taken away from them. The issues that lead up to a mother committing filicide are great, and incredibly complex. Even though these prevention and intervention methods can be beneficial, in most cases there are more deeply rooted issues in society that can not be fixed as simply as it may seem.
Filicide is a crime that not only affects the United States and English speaking countries, but other countries and cultures as well. This particular crime has been an issue in society as long as humans have inhabited the earth. In some cases, it was even accepted in certain societies and cultures. The majority of people who commit this crime varies between countries; however there is not yet in depth enough research to discover why this occurs. Cultural differences and societal expectations and pressures can be attributed towards this fact, but it can not be held as the only reason. Besides the cultural differences, there are many similarities between the countries in regards to filicide, which aids in research towards prevention methods that can be created in order to help parents that are struggling with filicidal ideas. Even though preventative methods have been suggested through research of this crime, there are no outstanding, successfully implemented methods in regards to filicide in any country. Filicide is a horrendous and tragic event that can be labeled into many reasons, typologies, and be understood through case studies; however, it is also important to discuss prevention methods and the mental health issues surrounding this topic. Filicide is a horrific act that is carried out by women and men who need significant assistance in their lives, and research into prevention and intervention must be continued.