ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates fatal violence against illegitimate infants and unmarried pregnant women through analysis of narratives found in witness depositions from the Court of Great Sessions. Interrogation of these sources sheds light on the complex processes of stigmatisation and social control generated by anxieties about deviant reproduction. By understanding how and why these women and children died, and how the stories of their deaths were retold by communities and authorities we can better understand broader social and cultural priorities, expectations and values concerning sex, birth and gender. The first part of this chapter analyses narratives from cases where mothers were charged with the murder of their newly born infants. The purpose here is not to examine the crime of infanticide in Wales, but it is to explore both the experiences of unmarried pregnant women within their communities, and the social and cultural contexts which informed, and made sense of, this type of violence. The second part of this chapter addresses gender-based violence and intimate partner homicide in the alleged killing of unmarried pregnant women by the supposed fathers of their children. Analysis of legal records reveals how the complex tension between women’s bodies and the crimes committed against them were understood and negotiated.
