Gender differences in legal outcomes of filicide in Austria and Finland.

Female offenders of filicide have been found to receive more lenient legal handling than male offenders. We aimed to discover these possible gender differences in the legal outcome of filicide cases. This was a binational register-based study covering all filicide offenders in Austria and Finland 1995-2005. We examined the legal outcomes of the crimes of all living offenders (64 mothers and 26 fathers). Mothers received a conviction of murder and life imprisonment less often than fathers. Within psychotic and personality-disordered offenders, infanticides, and offenders convicted for life, gender differences were less evident. Even though there seems to be some gender differences within the legal outcomes of filicide, ruling seemed more consistent than expected within distinct subgroups of offenders. Gender-based assumptions should not hinder equal and just handling of filicide cases.

Is the introduction of anonymous delivery associated with a reduction of high neonaticide rates in Austria? A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess rates of neonaticide after the implementation of a preventative 'anonymous delivery' law in mid-2001 in Austria. Women are allowed to access antenatal care and give birth in a hospital anonymously, without showing any ID and free of charge. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: A complete census of police-reported neonaticides was obtained from the police statistics of Austria, Sweden and Finland. POPULATION: All neonaticides reported to the police, 1991-2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Neonaticide rates before (1991-2001) and after (2002-2009) the introduction of anonymous delivery legislation per 100 000 births. METHODS: The Mann-Whitney U-test for two independent samples was used to compare neonaticide rates in the period before the new law was introduced with the rates observed after the implementation of the new law for each country. RESULTS: On average the rate of police-reported neonaticides was 7.2 per 100 000 births (SD 3.5, median 7.1) in Austria prior to the new law being passed, and 3.1 per 100 000 births (SD 2.1, median 2.6) after the law was passed. A significant decrease in neonaticide was observed in Austria after the implementation of anonymous delivery (Mann-Whitney U-test P = 0.017). Whereas the Finnish and Swedish rates were lower than the Austrian rates before and after the implementation of the Austrian law, they remained unchanged over the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate a significant decrease in the number of police-reported neonaticides in Austria after the implementation of anonymous delivery. Even though underlying factors associated with neonaticide are complex, the findings could indicate an effect of anonymous delivery in the prevention of this crime.

Neonaticides may be more preventable and heterogeneous than previously thought - neonaticides in Finland 1980-2000.

Neonaticide is a sad and infrequent crime with possibly a high level of underreporting. The aim of this study was to examine the circumstances of neonaticide, and whether there are subtypes of offenders, or suggestions for prevention. The study was retrospective and register-based using comprehensive nation-wide material of all cases of suspected neonaticide during 1980-2000 in Finland. Out of the 50 suspected cases, 32 women were included in the final analyses as neonaticide offenders. Most women (91%) had concealed their pregnancy, which was not the first for 66%. Most (66%) were not quite sure why they had offended, and the most frequent (63%) method of operation was neglect. Four women were diagnosed psychotic and formed a specific group. We concluded that there might be specific subgroups of offenders - even though our small population limited conclusions. Furthermore, prevention might be heightened. We call for international joint projects for enlarged material to enable grouping, as well as education and discussion among the public and the professionals to prevent neonaticide, unify its jurisprudence and improve the treatment of the offenders.

Violent women, blame attribution, crime, and personality.

BACKGROUND: The attribution of blame for criminal act has an impact, both on the way the offender must come to terms with the offence and on the risk of recidivism. Blame attribution has been found to be related to the type of crime and personality. AIMS: This study examined the relationship of blame attribution and feelings of guilt in violent female offenders, according to factors related to crime, background and personality. METHODS: The Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory (BAI) and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) were administered to 58 violent female offenders. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), Structured Clinical Interview II for DSM-IV (SCID II) and clinical interviews were used for assessment. RESULTS: Lower scores of guilt feelings were found in women than has been reported for men. The feelings of guilt were higher in homicide than in other violent crimes, but lower in the cases where women had committed prior violent crimes. No differences were found between psychiatric patients and prisoners. The duration of hospitalisation and incarceration did not result in differences in blame attribution and guilt, but when the victims survived, guilt feelings seemed to increase with the passing of the time. External attribution was related to motives of crime, but traumatic experiences did not have a crucial impact upon blame attribution. The attribution of blame and the amount of guilt feelings were found to be related to personality. Women scoring high on psychopathy reported less guilt than women with low scores. The corresponding result was not obtained in the group of women with antisocial personality disorder, who, however, showed an unexpectedly low use of external attribution. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that it might be difficult for women to cope with the violent offence and that the characteristics of psychopathy seems to have a crucial impact on the guilt feelings and consequently on coping with the crime in female offenders.