Filicide – the killing of a child by a parent, stepparent, or equivalent guardian, is a devastating universal form of family violence. It challenges our deepest assumptions about parental care and demands focused attention.
Understanding Filicide
Definition
Filicide involves biological parents, stepparents (often mothers’ live-in partners), and, less commonly, guardians like grandparents or carers.
Forms of Filicide
- Neonaticide: Killing of a newborn
- Infanticide: Killing of a child aged 0–2 (age range and penalties vary by country)
- Familicide: Killing of all family members, including the non-offending parent, often followed by the perpetrator’s suicide
- Filicide–Suicide: Killing of a child or children followed by the perpetrator’s suicide
What We Know
- Who Commits Filicide?
Mothers and fathers kill in similar numbers, but stepparents — particularly stepfathers — are over-represented. - Global Perspective
Research from Australia, the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa shows consistent patterns despite cultural differences. - Trends
After decades of stability, filicide rates have risen in recent years — potentially linked to pandemic-related pressures. - Poverty Not a Primary Driver
Higher-income countries like Australia, the US, and the UK report higher incidence rates, challenging previous assumptions.
Key Risk (Lethality) Factors
Filicide often involves a constellation of risk factors, varying by perpetrator type:
Currently, no risk patterns have been clearly identified for parents acting together.
Victims
- Aged under 5
- Chronic illness or disability
- Hospitalisation at birth
Fathers
- Living with/near a child under 5
- Intimate partner violence
- Mental illness
- Child abuse
- Substance abuse
- Criminal history
- Threats to kill (reported to authorities)
- Service avoidance
- Recent separation
Stepfathers
- Living with/near a child under 5
- Intimate partner violence
- Mental illness
- Child abuse
- Substance abuse
- Criminal history
- Threats to kill (reported to authorities)
- Service avoidance
- Recent separation
Mothers
- Living with a child under 5
- Mental illness
- Victim of domestic violence
- Recent separation
- Recent migration
- Disengagement from services
Understanding filicide requires examining how risk factors interact. For example, a migrant mother experiencing depression and abuse, or a father who is violent toward both partner and child.
A key finding: disengagement from services is a major warning sign. Many perpetrators are known to services but fail to engage. Strengthening early intervention and improving access could be crucial to prevention.