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Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice
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Family MedicineOffender CircumstancesCriminal CodeChild WelfareCriminal Justice ReformLawCriminal LawTrauma In ChildPediatric TraumaCriminal Justice SystemChild Maltreatment PreventionHealth SciencesParent EquivalentHomicideChild AbuseChild DevelopmentCriminal JusticeCrime ScienceSociologyPediatricsCustodial ParentsChild Protection
Filicide is the killing of a child by a parent or parent equivalent, and because it is difficult to predict, intervention strategies should target families with multiple risk factors and address both parents' and children's needs. This paper examines the characteristics of custodial parents, non‑custodial parents, and step‑parents charged with murdering or manslaughtering their children. Between 2000‑01 and 2011‑12, 238 filicide incidents involving 284 children were recorded in Australia, and offender circumstances varied by gender and custodial relationship with the victim.
Filicide is the killing of a child by a parent or parent equivalent. Between 2000-01 and 2011-12, there were 238 incidents of filicide in Australia involving the death of 284 children. This paper examines the characteristics of custodial parents, non-custodial parents and step-parents charged with the murder or manslaughter of their children. Offender circumstances and characteristics differed according to the offender's gender and custodial relationship with the victim. As filicide is difficult to predict, intervention strategies should focus on families with multiple risk factors and address the needs of parents as well as those of children at risk.