Gender disparities in sentencing filicide in the German criminal system

Abstract

Comparisons between male and female perpetrators of child homicide have primarily focused on differences in offence characteristics or motives. Several studies have proposed classifications based on characteristics such as victim age or motive, which vary by perpetrator sex. In contrast, this paper examines the judicial treatment of male and female perpetrators. Filicides committed by female perpetrators represent a profound deviation from traditional expectations that associate motherhood with caregiving and self-sacrifice. Because male and female perpetrators differ substantially, assessing potential sentencing disparities requires controlling for offender- and offence-related factors. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to test sex differences in judicial outcomes, specifically placement in forensic psychiatric hospitals and sentence length. Results show that perpetrator sex significantly affected sentence length but not the decision to issue a forensic hospital order after accounting for other relevant factors.