Abstract:

The criminological literature has shown for many years that women kill far less frequently than men. The central argument of this paper suggests that the murders committed by women cannot be explained deterministically by mental disorders or victimization processes, old or recent. Without excluding the possibility of the existence of such psychosocial mechanisms, we discuss the idea that women also kill deliberately, in acts involving the will (or volition), intentionality, rationality and emotions like anger and hatred that may be associated in a relatively autonomous way with remote or recent victimization processes and even with mental disorders, be they permanent or temporary.

Keywords:
Violence committed by women; Victimization; Psychiatrization; Volition; Agency