The course material I have studied so far has been interesting and informative for me. I have found many though-provoking takeaways throughout the course, but the ones that seemed most surprising to me were discussed in chapters 6 and 7 on Homicide and Sexual Victimization. First, it was rather interesting for me to read about the differences in the types of homicide and learn about the legal definitions of excusable and justifiable homicide. It was also informative to read about the legal categorization of rape and sexual abuse. In addition, I was surprised by some statistical facts related to homicide and sexual victimization, such as females being much more likely to become victims of intimate partner homicide and sexual abuse.
Kitsantonis, N. (2022). In Greece, a string of killings pushes domestic abuse into the spotlight.
This news article discusses the rising rates of intimate partner violence and homicide in Greece. The author tells about several cases of men’s deadly assaults on their female partners, which have been covered in press. It is suggested that the rise in the number of intimate partner homicides was partly the result of Covid lockdowns (Williams & Bailey, 2020). Additionally, this increase and the fact that the assaults were covered in the news helped to raise awareness about the issue and encouraged more women subjected to domestic violence to seek help from law enforcement.
Overall, the article appears to be a credible source; it provides statistics on the assaults and extracts from the interviews with some prominent figures, such as lawyers and a sociologist who works with gender studies. The author also connects the situation in Greece with similar problems in other countries across the globe, which adds significance to the issue (Kitsantonis, 2022). The tone of the writing is moderate yet persuasive, and the article does not seem biased, as the author gives many examples of homicide cases to demonstrate that the problem remains topical.
I have chosen this current event because it focuses on a society where open discussion of domestic violence and intimate partner assaults is still stigmatized to a certain extent. Relating the article to the textbook chapters on the same topic, I have realized that the scope of the issue is much broader than I had imagined, which is aggravated by the stigma that still exists in some communities (Lauritsen & Lentz, 2019). While studying this topic, I felt the emotions of anger, frustration, and concern for those women who are still too scared to speak about their horrifying experiences.
The important items from the textbook that have increased my understanding of the topic were mainly presented in Chapter 6, which discussed some facts about intimate partner homicide. For example, it is stated that “risk of being killed by a loved one is much higher for females”, and this fact is supported by the article, as all the victims mentioned were women (Kitsantonis, 2022). It can be argued that a victimological lens with a focus on both the victim and the offender can significantly strengthen our understanding of the problem and what causes it. This is mainly due to the fact that it will provide a more profound knowledge of the behaviors that can precede the assault and factors contributing to intimate partner violence.
References
Kitsantonis, N. (2022). In Greece, a string of killings pushes domestic abuse into the spotlight.
Lauritsen, J. L., & Lentz, T. S. (2019). National and local trends in serious violence, firearm victimization, and homicide. Homicide Studies, 23(3), 243-261.
Williams, M., & Bailey, R. K. (2020). Intimate partner violence during SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Intimate Partner Violence, 3(2), 137-141.