Nagdee Mohammed, Artz Lillian, Subramaney Ugasvaree, Young Charles, Pieterse Amanda, Pettitt Julia
Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
S Afr J Psychiatr. 2024 Mar 30;30:2222. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v30i0.2222. eCollection 2024.
Women charged with violent offences may be referred by courts for forensic psychiatric assessment to determine whether mental disorder or intellectual disability impacts their fitness to stand trial and/or criminal responsibility. The profile of these women is a poorly researched area in South Africa.
This study examined the socio-demographic, offence-related, and clinical profile of South African women charged with violent offences referred for forensic assessment.
Fort England Hospital (FEH), a forensic psychiatric institution in the Eastern Cape.
The clinical records of 173 women referred by courts for forensic psychiatric evaluation over a 24-year period (1993-2017) to FEH were systematically reviewed.
Most women were single, black mothers with dependent children, who were unemployed and socio-economically impoverished. Many had backgrounds of pre-offence mental illness, alcohol use and alleged abuse. The majority were first-time offenders whose victims were known to them. Most child victims were biological children killed by their mothers. Likely primary motives for violence were related to psychopathology in half of cases, and interpersonal conflict in a third. Forensic assessment most frequently confirmed psychotic disorders and dual diagnoses. Half the cases were fit to stand trial and under half were criminally responsible.
Violent female offending occurs within a gendered context, with high rates of prior trauma, alcohol use and psychosocial distress in perpetrators. An emphasis on gender-sensitive psychosocial interventions is required.
This study highlights the nature and context of violent offending by women referred for forensic psychiatric assessment in South Africa.
被控暴力犯罪的女性可能会被法院转介进行法医精神病学评估，以确定精神障碍或智力残疾是否影响她们接受审判的能力和/或刑事责任。在南非，这些女性的情况是一个研究较少的领域。
本研究调查了被转介进行法医评估的被控暴力犯罪的南非女性的社会人口统计学、犯罪相关及临床情况。
东开普省的一家法医精神病学机构——英格兰堡医院（FEH）。
系统回顾了在24年期间（1993 - 2017年）被法院转介至FEH进行法医精神病学评估的173名女性的临床记录。
大多数女性是单身黑人母亲，有受抚养子女，失业且社会经济贫困。许多人有犯罪前精神疾病、酗酒和涉嫌受虐待的背景。大多数是初犯，受害者为她们认识的人。大多数儿童受害者是被其母亲杀害的亲生孩子。暴力的主要动机在一半的案例中与精神病理学有关，三分之一与人际冲突有关。法医评估最常确诊为精神障碍和双重诊断。一半的案例适合接受审判，不到一半的人负有刑事责任。
女性暴力犯罪发生在特定性别背景下，犯罪者先前遭受创伤、酗酒和社会心理困扰的比例很高。需要强调对性别敏感的社会心理干预措施。
本研究突出了在南非被转介进行法医精神病学评估的女性暴力犯罪的性质和背景。
