Uxoricide (from Latin uxor meaning "wife" and -cide, from caedere meaning "to cut, to kill") is murder of one's wife or romantic partner. It can refer to the act itself or the person who carries it out.
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Rates of uxoricide
Overall, rates of uxoricide are much higher than rates of mariticide. Of the 2340 deaths at the hands of intimate partners in America in 2007, female victims made up 70%. In the region of South-East Asia, 55% of all murdered women died at the hands of their partner, followed by 40% in the African region and 38% in the Americas. Preliminary findings of an ongoing study estimate that globally, approximately 35% of murders of women are committed by intimate partners.
Rates of uxoricide seem to fluctuate across western cultures, with approximately seven women being killed per month in England and Wales, approximately four women per month in Australia, and approximately 76 women per month in the United States.
Evolved Homicide Module Theory
Evolved Homicide Theory states that men have evolved a particular killing strategy in order to deprive male rivals of sexual access to their mate and to eradicate the damage caused by infidelity. Therefore, when a man experiences partner infidelity, he may kill his partner as a reproductive strategy. The male has devoted a lot of his resources in order to retain his mate, thus infidelity incurs severe damage to a man's reproductive reputation, which then may potentially hinder his ability to attract and retain future mates. As a result, evolved homicide theory states that the killing of a partner is an adaptive response to avoid suffering the damage associated with partner infidelity, and can be viewed as an intentional act rather than a "slip-up".
Unconscious conflict
Proponents of Psychodynamic theories have offered explanations for the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of Uxoricide. It has been suggested that men who kill their partners experience both an unconscious dependence on their wife and a resentment of her. These men wish to leave the relationship, but unknowingly perceive themselves as too helpless to do so, which culminates into a belief that killing the wife is the only way to be free of her. This approach also offers an alternative explanation for instances where a man commits uxoricide and subsequent immediate suicide - the man ends his life not due to guilt, but instead due to his perceived helplessness and dependency.
Defense mechanisms
Links have also been established between violence in childhood and likelihood of uxoricide occurring. Psyschodynamic researchers argue that being the victim of abuse in childhood leads to being a perpetrator of domestic abuse in adulthood via the route of defense mechanisms - in this case, violence is an unconscious defensive adaption to childhood trauma and other adverse events. Other psychodynamic researchers have reported that Thematic Apperception tests reveal significant trends of rejection by a mother or wife in men who commit uxoricide. Psychoanalytic dream interpretation has also argued that unconscious conflict manifests into violent outbursts. For example, in one instance one man had experienced and recorded over 200 distressing, mostly violent dreams prior to murdering his wife.
Marital status
Cohabiting women are at greater risk of domestic violence and uxoricide than married women. Research has found that cohabiting women are 9 times more likely to be killed by their intimate partner than married women. A number of possible reasons for this finding have been studied. Cohabiting women are more likely to be younger, have a lower level of education and are more likely to bring children from a previous relationship into their home with their new intimate partner. In addition to this heightened risk to a mother with stepchildren, the genetically unrelated stepfather also poses a risk to the child; research has shown that children are at much greater risk of violence and filicide from stepfathers compared to a genetic father. This may be because investment from a stepfather reduces reproductive benefits. Research has found that the presence of step-children can significantly increase the risk of uxoricide for women. A large number of filicides are accompanied by uxoricide and suicide.
Additionally, cohabiting relationships have higher separation rates and males in these types of relationships may not feel in control of their intimate partners and may feel threatened by male sexual competitors. Research has found that a large proportion of uxoricide cases follow on from the male believing that his female intimate partner has been unfaithful or the female partner attempting to end the relationship. Research has shown that females often experience increased abuse following the termination of a relationship. An Australian study found that of a sample of uxoricide cases, 47% of women were murdered by their male intimate partner within 2 months of separating. Sexual jealousy may be a possible reason for this heightened risk following separation.
Partner separation
Another risk factor for Uxoricide is estrangement. Women who choose to leave their partner place themselves at higher risk of spousal homicide. The male is more likely to kill his mate before she has had the chance to form a new relationship with another man as he fears she will then devote her reproductive resources to a male rival's offspring. Therefore, by killing his partner he will avoid the reputational damage associated with intrasexual competition and will eliminate the chances of another man having access to a high value mate. This also explains why those women who have had children from a previous relationship are at higher risk of spousal homicide compared with those who have only had children with their current partner. The female partner has already devoted her reproductive resources to another man, therefore when she establishes a new relationship, the male becomes involved in the upbringing of another man's offspring which will damage his hierarchical status amongst intrasexual rivals.
Age
For a male, the damage associated with infidelity is greater when the partner is younger. A woman's fertility decreases as she gets older, therefore, age is key indicator of reproductive success. As a result, a man will place high levels of importance on a mate with greater reproductive value. A man is more likely to engage in "hands on" killing methods when the mate has high reproductive value. "Hands on" refers to more violent methods such as using weapons, drowning, stabbing and strangling.
Culture
Some instances of Uxoricide are facilitated by the culture of the victim and the perpetrator. For example, honor killings, whereby a man kills his wife because she has brought shame upon their family, are approved in some male-dominated, patriarchal societies. Approximately 42% of female victims of honour killings worldwide were killed because it was believed they had committed a 'sexual impropriety'. Other facilitating cultural norms include discriminatory family laws and articles in the Criminal Code which display leniency towards honor killings. In Turkey, it has been reported that little social stigma is attached to honor killings, and around 37% of those living in conservative areas believe that adulterous women should be killed. These attitudes favouring honor killings have also been echoed amongst children and adults in Jordan and India. Laws in Pakistan and Uruguay allow honor killings where a woman has been unfaithful, enforcing no punishment on those who murdered her.
Uxoricide can also be prevalent in countries where honor killings aren't considered acceptable. In South Africa, for example, as many as five women are estimated to be killed each week by an intimate partner. It has been suggested that this high rate of Uxoricide is a result of the prevalence of violence in South African Society, and how it is deemed socially acceptable in many circumstances - conservative attitudes in this society have been suggested to facilitate Uxoricide. Studies conducted in Italy exhibit similar findings, reporting that a man's cultural values concerning the position of women in society links to his likelihood of committing Uxoricide.
Effects on children
When a parent kills another parent, children experience significant trauma. The other parent is likely to be in prison or may have committed suicide and therefore, the child will go through significant loss. The child has not only lost a parent but has also lost the other parent that would help and support them through this loss. This type of extreme traumatic event can have serious implications on wellbeing and mental health.