To Kill or Not to Kill? That is the Question. A Separate Typology of Perpetrators of Femicide and Non-Lethal Aggressors in Spain, or a Single Group?

Abstract

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a heterogeneous phenomenon. The findings of these studies suggest that fatal and non-fatal violence are distinct phenomena and that femicide is not always the end of a history of violence. For a better understanding of these phenomena, a typological perspective is relevant. This study aims to analyse whether there are factors that can classify femicides and non-lethal aggressors (NLA), whether each of these groups should be analysed independently, and whether the perpetrators should be classified separately. The sample used in this research consisted of cases of femicide (n = 171) and non-lethal intimate partner violence (n = 201), collected by the National Team for In-Depth Homicide Review in the context of Gender-Based Violence (EHVdG) in Spain. Considering all cases of femicide, no combinations of instability and antisociality factors were found that would allow for the classification of both femicides and NLA. However, by eliminating cases of femicide with prior violence, a combination of factors was found that allowed for the classification of all aggressors. These findings could indicate that the phenomenon of femicide has a group of aggressors who are distinct from NLA, although others are not. Thus, femicides without prior violence, which could include those who commit suicide after the event or those in whom femicide is a specific situational reaction, are the cases that characterize fatal aggressors, while femicides with a prior history of violence may have more in common with NLA.