Citation

Gerard FJ, Browne KD, Whitfield KC. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2015; 61(4): 413-429.

Affiliation

University of Nottingham, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X15596387

PMID

26188346

Abstract

This study investigated gender differences regarding young people charged with murder in England and Wales. A sample of 318 cases was collected from the Home Office's Homicide Index and analysed. Of these cases, 93% of the offenders were male and 7% female. The analyses explored gender differences in terms of the offender's race, offender's age, victim's age, victim's gender, weapon used, offender-victim relationship, and circumstances of the offence. The study found that a female offender was significantly more likely to murder a family member than a male offender, and a male offender was significantly more likely to murder a stranger than a female offender. In addition, a female offender was significantly more likely to murder a victim below the age of 5 than a male offender. Implications for interventions with young people who are charged with murder are discussed.

Language: en