Why Women Kill: An Empirical Typology of Homicides Committed by Women in Russia

Abstract

Homicides by women have been understudied compared to those by men, despite evidence that the motives and circumstances differ significantly by gender, highlighting a critical research gap. Recent decades have seen increased interest in this area, with global criminological research identifying self-defense as the most common motive among women. However, these studies often rely on limited sample sizes and primarily focus on motives without considering the circumstances and the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. This study bridges these gaps by developing an empirical typology of murders committed by women in Russia, based on an analysis of over 3,500 court sentences from 2017 to 2021 under Article 105 “Murder” part 1. This comprehensive typology incorporates the motives, the circumstances of the murders, and the socio-economic characteristics of the perpetrators. Employing text mining, machine learning, and latent class analysis, this research provides the most detailed typology to date, enhancing our understanding of the complexities behind homicides committed by women.