Vedrana Lacmanovic
(Serbia)
Co-authors:
Tanja Pavlov (Independent researcher) and Tanja Ignjatovic (NGO Autonomous Women’s Center, Belgrade Serbia)
Topic: Characteristics and prevention of femicide-suicide cases committed with firearms in an intimate partner relationship
Language: English
Abstract
The subject of the presentation are cases of femicide-suicide in an intimate partner relationship committed with a firearm, viewed from the perspective of employees in the Center for Social Work (CSR). The goal is to map institutional difficulties in their recognition and processing in order to give recommendations for improving institutional practice. The research methodology includes content analysis of media articles for 16 such cases in the period 2019-2022. year, transcripts from three focus group discussions held with professionals in the system of protecting women from violence and interviews with two women who survived violence/threat with firearms. The results showed the specificity of this type of femicide – they occur in extramarital and former relationships in which there are usually no children in common, there is a significant age gap between the partners, the murders are planned, there is a history of violence, jealousy and various types of controlling behavior, as well as alcohol consumption and certain mental difficulties. Separation of partners represents a “breaking point” for the perpetrator, but before it there was an upward line of violence. Such cases are not reported to the institutions, and when they are reported, there is no agreement of the institutions in risk assessment and determination of protection measures. Therefore, a pyramid of prevention should be built in the process of observing the phenomenon and acting.
The research is the result of the Reduce Risk – Increase Safety II project, which is implemented by the United Nations Development Program in Serbia (UNDP).