Citation

Höynck T. Verhaltenstherapie 2010; 20(1): 29-36.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Karger Publishers)

DOI

10.1159/000268381

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Homicide against children in Germany is of great public and political interest, but an under-researched subject. The ongoing criminological research project presented here aims at achieving reliable data about characteristics and backgrounds of child homicides as well as the respective criminal proceedings.

METHODS and Results: Data are derived from all identifiable court files regarding homicide against children aged <6 years within the years 1997-2006 in Germany. The first part of this article describes some results regarding the phenomenology of child homicide in Germany. The preliminary analysis of about half of the cases shows that it is necessary to distinguish different types of homicide in order to conduct sensible analyses. We suggest the following differentiation: neonaticide, abuse, neglect, homicide during acute and severe mental illness, extended suicide, purposeful homicide and other. The different types of homicide are heterogeneous and not without overlap.

DISCUSSION: The second part of the article discusses some of the difficulties courts encounter in judging the cases. Those difficulties are due to the fact that not only is it quite often difficult to fully prove the relevant facts, but also because court decisions necessarily involve considerations that are not free of value-judgments. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG.

Language: de

Keywords

human; Homicide; homicide; suicide; child; child abuse; Infanticide; article; mental disease; criminology; child death; Neonaticide; child neglect; child homocide; Child maltreatment deaths