Sororicides in Ghana: A Study of Homicidal Aggression Against Sisters
Sororicide has received scarce attention in the homicide literature. This is particularly the case for sororicide incidents occurring in the nonindustrialized, non-Western world. To help address this gap in the literature and extend the study of sororicides, the current exploratory, descriptive stud...
Authors: | ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
[2019]
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In: |
International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
Year: 2019, Volume: 63, Issue: 8, Pages: 1265-1288 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | Sororicide has received scarce attention in the homicide literature. This is particularly the case for sororicide incidents occurring in the nonindustrialized, non-Western world. To help address this gap in the literature and extend the study of sororicides, the current exploratory, descriptive study examined the major characteristics of 18 media-reported sororicides that occurred in Ghana from 1990 to 2017, including the sociodemographic characteristics of victims and offenders, victim-offender relationship, incident location, modus operandi, motive, and criminal justice outcomes. The results show that sororicide represents a minuscule proportion of all homicides that occur in the country annually. Brothers were overwhelmingly the perpetrators of sororicide, accounting for 17 of the 18 killings. The findings indicate that a substantial proportion of the sororicides occurred in the context of disputes over money, land, property, or inheritance. Two brothers killed sisters they suspected of maleficent witchcraft. |
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ISSN: | 1552-6933 |
DOI: | 10.1177/0306624X18814169 |