Approximately 10% of homicide victims in Australia are children or teenagers under 18 years of age. Dramatically, most of these children were killed by a parent or guardian, often before their fifth year of life. The killing of children by parents, stepparents, or other parent-like figures is known as filicide. The victims of filicide are predominantly young children, while approximately 1 in 5 is over 18 years old.

So far, most criminology research focusing on filicide has aimed at uncovering the so-called ‘motives’ of offending parents. While this search for a motive remains a recurring theme in many studies, results so far have been contradictory, suggesting that it is not particularly helpful in identifying strategies to prevent filicide.  

Rather than focusing on the motives of filicide offenders, some researchers have started examining risk factors and circumstances commonly linked with filicide cases. Thea Brown, a Professor of Social Work in Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University in Australia is among these scholars.

In one paper, Professor Brown, Associate Professor Tyson and Dr Fernandez Arias touched upon the limitations of past research focusing on filicide, highlighting the need to carry out larger studies that span a longer time and examine a wider range of cases, to gather more detailed insight. Since then, she has been studying filicide cases in Australia to uncover recurring patterns and risk factors that could be addressed as part of future filicide prevention efforts.

Their studies included the Monash Filicide Research Project, which closely examined filicide cases recorded in the Australian state of Victoria between 2000 and 2009. The Monash Filicide Research project explored 41 filicide cases for which case files were available, including witness statements, police records, court transcripts, and the criminal records of offenders.

Out of the 41 victims of these crimes, 16 were killed by their mother, 15 by their father, 9 by a stepfather and 1 by both parents. This means that collectively almost two-thirds of perpetrators were male parental figures.

The researchers found that out of the 36 cases for which risk factor-related information was available, 72% had occurred following the separation or divorce of parents, 66% involved a parent diagnosed with a mental illness, 25% were linked to a history of domestic violence, and 22% to a history of child abuse.

Professor Brown and her colleagues found that 86% of convicted mothers had received mental health diagnoses and 64% were previously separated. While a lower percentage of fathers and stepfathers had received a mental health diagnosis, establishing whether a perpetrator was suffering from mental illness when they committed a crime is not that straightforward. For instance, they might have been experiencing difficulties but did not see a specialist and remained undiagnosed.

The researchers also found that out of offending stepfathers, 67% had a history of domestic violence, 56% had a history of child abuse, and 78% were known to use illicit substances. The data also showed that the number of boys killed by a parent was almost twice that of girls.

Stepfathers were less likely than biological mothers and fathers to betray signs that they were planning to harm children and did not typically attempt or die by suicide after their crimes. They were also found to almost exclusively target young children who were between 1 and 4 years old. Biological fathers predominantly killed children under 1 year old, while mothers killed children in both these age groups equally.

Overall, the results of the Monash Project suggest that filicide often occurs following the interaction of various risk factors, such as mental illness, domestic violence, child abuse, and parental separation. They are particularly common in the absence of psychological and social interventions designed to support affected families.

Interestingly, the researchers found that over half of the perpetrators had been in contact with community services before committing filicide, suggesting that they were trying to get help for some issues. These services ranged from mental health or counselling services to GPs, child protection or criminal justice services, and addiction support groups.

Building on the results of the Monash Project, Professor Brown and her colleagues recently carried out a further study aimed at painting a more detailed picture of filicide across Australia. For this study, they analysed data gathered by the Australian Institute of Criminology’s National Homicide Monitoring Program. This program has been recording data related to homicides that occurred in Australia since 1989.

Firstly, the researchers identified some key characteristics of filicide offenders in Australia. Between 2000 and 2012, the number of female and male offenders was approximately the same, although Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory recorded higher proportions of male offenders, while South Australia recorded a predominance of female offenders.

The average age of offenders was 32, with the youngest offender being 17 years old and the oldest 75. Out of offenders for which marital status was known, two-thirds were in a relationship when they committed filicide and one-fifth were separated.

23% of offenders were found to be in possession of drugs at the time of the crime, while 15% had consumed alcohol. Moreover, 43% of offenders had received a previous conviction, for crimes ranging from violent offences to drug-related offences. Just under a third of incidents occurred following a recorded history of domestic violence, and one-third of offenders had a recorded history of mental illness. 93% of perpetrators did not attempt or die by suicide following the crime and those who did were predominantly female. 

The researchers also looked at how the offenders had killed their victims. They found that 25% of victims had died after being beaten, 14% were strangled or suffocated, 12% died from a stab wound, 7% from a gunshot wound, and lower percentages died after being shaken, drowned, poisoned, or neglected.

The recent studies carried out by Professor Brown and her colleagues at Monash University offer valuable insights about common factors associated with filicide in Australia. Data suggests that filicide incidents have remained steady in recent years, highlighting the need to introduce more effective programs to support struggling families and prevent these unsettling crimes.  

The researchers hope that their efforts will inform the design of new interventions, contributing to the reduction of filicide and the safeguarding of children.