‘Just Say Goodbye’ (January 2013 online edition)

‘Just Say Goodbye’about what proportion of mothers and fathers perpetrate different types offilicide such as neonaticide and fatal abuse filicides and what proportion ofmothers and fathers suicide as part of the filicide.DVRCV requested filicide data from the NHMP which has been valuablefor this paper. However, as discussed in Chapter 3, the data only provided alimited amount of information about the reasons or motives for filicide and didnot use categories consistent with the international literature. Improvementsto the data collection to include specific filicide categories and to clarify thenature of categories such as ‘revenge’, ‘jealousy’ and ‘domestic argument’ mayassist in reducing the high number of cases in which the motive is not recordedand would help develop a better understanding of filicide in Australia. It wouldalso be useful to be able to identify which cases involved separation as a factorin the filicide and in which cases there had been prior family violence towardspartners and/or children.Without accurate and regularly reported statistics it is not possible to get athorough understanding of the patterns of filicide or to measure changes thatmay occur as the result of policy developments (such as changes to family law)and the implementation of prevention strategies.Changing community attitudesIn many of the cases outlined in this discussion paper, perpetrators of filicidetold someone what they planned to do and were not taken seriously. Some toldprofessionals and others told friends or family members. International researchalso shows that many parents who killed their children talked about filicidalideation with a professional, friend or family member before the incident(Putkonen et al. 2011). This is a key warning sign that is not being heeded.There is a need for an awareness campaign so early detection and intervention isimproved (San Diego DV Fatality Review Team 2008). Such a campaign shouldtarget professionals but also the wider community. People should be supportedto share any information they may have about risks of harm to children withappropriate agencies without negative repercussions for themselves (Humphreys2010). Recent work on developing approaches to bystander action on familyviolence may be useful to explore in relation to preventing filicide. 142It is also important that those working in the media are informed about filicideand its links with violence against women. Media reports of parents who killtheir children attract a great deal of attention. The way these cases are reported142 See for instance, the review of bystander approaches to preventing violence against women by VicHealth (Powell2011).89