ABSTRACT
Domestic homicide is the most common type of homicide, but not necessarily the most researched or discussed. Domestic homicide is also a gendered crime as not only are most perpetrators men but men and women kill for different reasons. Generally, a man’s killing can be seen as offensive, killing for control, while the woman’s is defensive, killing out of despair or in self-defence. With a focus on the relation between victim and perpetrator, rather than location, the most common types of domestic homicide will be discussed in this chapter. These homicides are first discussed in a general context ranging from intimate partner homicide, filicide, and familicide, then in a cultural context, covering homicide such as so-called ‘honour’ killings and dowry murders, where focus is still on the relation between perpetrator and victim and gendered dimensions.
