engleski

Intrafamily homicides in Zagreb County from 2001 to 2010

Introduction: Croatian "Law on protection against domestic violence", that came into force on November 21 2009, defines "violence" as every form of physical, emotional and sexual abuse or economic deprivation and includes a vast variety of possible relationships including marriage and extramarital unions, connection by blood, persons who have children together and guardianships. Physical abuse is defined as act of physical force irrespective of whether it resulted in physical injury. Domestic violence is frequently repeated by the perpetrator and can escalate over time to domestic violence homicide which is the most fatal outcome. Here we evaluate the characteristics of intrafamily homicides. Methods: The material consists of all homicides committed by a family member in wider area of Zagreb between the years 2001 and 2010 where a medico-legal autopsy had been performed and samples taken for subsequent forensic toxicological analysis. The total of 58 cases were included. Data were collected on characteristics of the victim and perpetrator, method of the assault and causes of death. Results: The incidence of intrafamily homicide was fairly constant ranging from 3 to 8 per year. Over 67 percent of fatally assaulted were females and almost 95 percent of the assailants were male. The age range of the victim was very broad (from 4 months to 85 years of age) whereas the age range of the perpetrator was a bit narrower, ranging from 17 to 81 years of age. The most common family relationship between the victim and assailant (50 percent) was marriage or extramarital union. Parent killed by child, and vice versa, is another frequent relation while homicide among brothers and sisters and grandparents and grandchildren are only sporadic. Firearm injuries were the most common cause of death (almost 40 percent) followed by exsanguination (22 percent) due to either stab or cutting wounds. Most of the victims (93 percent) died at the scene of the incident and all of them died within 4 days after the attack. In 13 cases the attacker committed suicide right after the incident and another 5 attempted but failed, in all cases the attacker were males and 72 percent of them were either married or in extramarital union with the victim. Conclusion: While public awareness of and policy responses to domestic violence have grown over the past 10 years, in Zagreb County rates of intrafamily homicide have been quite constant. The presented results demonstrate that within various family relationships, women are much more endangered by man, and that marriage and extramarital union is the most violent of all interpersonal relations. In order to decrease prevalence of domestic violence and incidence of domestic violence homicides it is necessary to know the characteristics of these acts and their participants.

intrafamily homicide; domestic violence

nije evidentirano