Citation

Roberts K, Wassenaar D, Canetto SS, Pillay A. J. Interpers. Violence 2010; 25(5): 877-899.

Affiliation

Private Practice, South Africa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260509336964

PMID

19617417

Abstract

This study investigated homicide-suicide in Durban, South Africa, for the years 2000 to 2001. The incidence was 0.89 per 100,000, higher than the international average. A majority of perpetrators (91%) and victims (87%) were Black African, proportional to their representation in the population. Perpetrators were typically men (in 95% of cases), older than, and intimate partners (in 75% of cases) of the female victims (in 100% of cases). Average ages of perpetrators and victims were 32 and 27, respectively. The security sector was overrepresented as an employment category for perpetrators. A firearm was used in 87% of the homicides and 80% of the suicides. The individuals involved in homicide-suicides in Durban are similar to homicide-suicide perpetrators and victims in industrialized countries. The fact that homicide-suicides in South Africa, as in most countries, involve almost exclusively men killing female intimates confirms the importance of examining and challenging social norms enabling male violence against women.

Language: en