‘Just Say Goodbye’ (January 2013 online edition)

‘Just Say Goodbye’The patterns of intimate partner violence – controlling, jealous and possessivebehaviour – exhibited in many of the cases in which fathers killed their childrenare not evident in the research on maternal filicide, nor are they evident in thecases reviewed here. In none of the cases outlined above was there indicationthat the women had previously been violent towards their partner.ConclusionThis chapter has explored some Victorian case studies of mothers whointentionally killed their children in the context of separation. It confirms thefindings of the filicide literature that shows factors contributing to maternalfilicide include being the primary carers of their children, limited support,financial difficulties and experiencing family violence (Bourget et al. 2007,Kauppi et al. 2010).Separation, or the prospect of it, has a significant impact on mothers asthe primary carers for children. Culturally and socially women are viewed asultimately responsible for the welfare of their children. In the cases outlinedin this chapter, the women who were primary carers for their children faceddifficulties providing for them post-separation and were worried about thewelfare of the children in those circumstances. The women became depressedand suicidal because they believed they could not cope alone as mothers afterseparation.The primary motive in many cases in which women kill their children inthe context of separation appears to be suicide. However, the cases outlinedin this paper show that the women did not want to ‘abandon’ their childrenand leave them without their mother and so they killed the children aswell as themselves. The women appear to believe the children’s fathers wereuninterested in, or not capable of, caring for the children. Social expectations inrelation to the responsibilities of women for children and mothers’ perceptionsthat children could not survive without them may be important considerationsfor understanding maternal filicides.Warning signs are evident when mothers kill their children in the context ofseparation. Many of the women discussed above, experienced depression andexpressed suicidal thoughts or made suicide attempts. Some women told othersthey intended to kill themselves and to include their children in their suicide.The women also expressed concern about their ability to cope as mothers afterseparation from their partner. It follows that in terms of prevention, supportrelated to mental health and practical support in providing for children postseparationmay reduce risks to women and children in these circumstances.77