Homicide in Global Extremes: Exploring the Feasibility of EHM-Based Analysis in Finland and South Africa

Homicide remains a major cause of death globally. The global risk differentials are a persistent public health challenge. Africa’s homicide rate of 13 victims per 100,000 people is markedly higher than the European average (2.2 per 100,000 people). To understand the causes of such large differences,...

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Authors: Kivivuori, Janne (Author) ; Singh, Shanta Balgobind (Author) ; Suonpää, Karoliina (Author) ; Jagganath, Gerelene (Author) ; Raeste, Anna (Author) ; Khan, Sultan (Author) ; Murhula, Patrick Bashizi Bashige (Author) ; Chetty, Robert (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: Journal of contemporary criminal justice
Year: 2024, Volume: 40, Issue: 3, Pages: 511-531
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Keywords:
European Homicide Monitor
Feasibility
South Africa
Finland
Comparison
patterns
Homicide
Description
Summary:Homicide remains a major cause of death globally. The global risk differentials are a persistent public health challenge. Africa’s homicide rate of 13 victims per 100,000 people is markedly higher than the European average (2.2 per 100,000 people). To understand the causes of such large differences, homicide research needs to move from country-level rates to disaggregated analyses in which homicide is broken down by victim, offender, and incident characteristics. We conducted a pilot study in which the European Homicide Monitor (EHM) coding manual is applied to a South African research location and compared to an extreme point in the Global North, Finnish urban areas. We find differential patterns in the two locations. The high-rate context of South Africa manifests a younger offender and victim age structure, a higher share of criminal and revenge motives and the use of firearms, and incidents in public places. In contrast, the comparatively low-rate Finnish context shows a higher relative share of intimate partner violence and familial incidents taking place in private places. The role of alcohol and drugs appears more salient in Finnish urban homicide, a finding calling for replication. We conclude by discussing the methodological challenges revealed by the pilot comparison.
ISSN:1552-5406
DOI:10.1177/10439862241242868