Baby girls under the age of one year were more likely to be a homicide victim than any other age group of either sex, according to figures issued by the Australian Institute of Criminology yesterday.
Their victim rate was 4.8 per 100,000, compared with an Australian average of 2.1.
The figures are contained in Homicides in Australia, 1990-91 by Heather Strang. The study gave information on victims, offenders, their relationship and the incident causing the death.
Total under-ones had a rate of 3.5 per cent, up from 2.8 the previous year. The number of victims under 10 rose from 6 per cent of the total to 9 per cent.
The victim rate after the age of one tapers off. Between the ages of one and 20 it is well under the average.
The study shows also that though women are only 10 per cent of the offenders, they are 42 per cent of the victims. And Aboriginal women are 10 times more likely to be a victim than other women.
Ms Strang said babies were very fragile and easy to kill. Toddlers were more robust.
“”Under ones were difficult to manage,” she said “”Parents had a multitude or their own problems and did not relate to under ones as well as to older children.”
Of the 351 homicides, nine were under one.
“”There should not be any,” Ms Strang said. “”And these homicides represent the tip of the iceberg of general violence to babies.”
“”We now have a responsibility to look at the character of these incidents to see what is going on here. No-one knows what has gone wrong.”
Ms Strang wanted to generate a bit of outrage about the figure. She hopes to look in more detail at each incident with the prospect of more prevention. It might, be for example, that the victims were premature with less bonding, more problems and more fragility. If that turned out to be the case, earlier intervention could help.
The figures show that Aborigines, young males and the unemployed figure highly in homicides, and most happen at weekends. The breakdown of a relationship accounts for a third of all homicides. Alcohol was a factor in three-quarters of cases. Pre-meditated murder is a very rare event in Australia. (SUBS: you can have unpre-meditated murder; most of them are that way, eg, when the offender only intends to injure or kills during a robbery etc)
The figures show the homicide rate has gone up slightly from 1.9 per 100,000 in 1989-90 to 2.1 per 100,000 in 1990-91 _ in absolute terms from 330 to 351. Homicides include all cases where someone is charged with murder or manslaughter (except driving-related cases), all murder-suicides classed as murder by police, other deaths classed a murder by police even though no suspect has been arrested.
Ninety per cent of the offenders were male. Aborigines had eight times the overall Australian victim rate and 14 times the offender rate. Firearms were used in a quarter of cases.
There was no indication of serial killing cases.
The Northern Territory average was eight times the average.
However, the study noted: “”Homicide remains a relatively rare phenomenon in our society and, as such, is subject to random fluctuations associated with infrequent events.”
Almost 60 per cent of incidents were within residential premises, three-quarters of these being the victims’ home. Drunken interchanges over trivial matters, almost always between young male peers, accounted for 13 per cent of homicides.
Aboriginal women had 10 times the risk of being a victim than other women. Unemployment made people more likely to be victims. Few victims were professional or managerial.
Offenders were usually young male. 42 per cent of all offenders were aged 20 to 29; 18 per cent were under 19; 22 per cent were 30-39. Less than a third of offenders were employed.
In summary the study said: “”Homicides remain essentially of two kinds: almost half concern people who have been in a sexual or family relationship and the incident results from the breakdown of that relationship; a bout a further quarter of incidents involve peers who are well-known to each other, often both young and both alcohol-affected, and often resulting from a trivial altercation or misunderstanding. There appear to be few incidents arising from gang disputes or from activities associated with organised crime.”
The director of the Australian Institute of Criminology, Professor Duncan Chappell, is to leave today (mon12oct) to take part in the Commonwealth Observer Group in South Africa.
The group will look at community relations and attend demonstrations and rallies with the aim of working with South African and international groups to help bring violence under control.