Exploring Homicide Diversity: Femicide Across Sociocultural Groups

Abstract

This study followed the current scholarly interest in seeking possible links between social and cultural factors and homicide by offering comparative nation-based observations on femicide. To this end, the study analyzed femicide events across social groups in Israel (veteran Jews, Jewish immigrants from the former USSR, Ethiopian immigrant Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze, Muslims, and Bedouin) and foreigners (asylum seekers and foreign workers) during a 6-year period (2010–2015). Data from 162 cases were collected and coded based on 25 sociodemographic and criminological variables. Empirical observations suggest sociocultural diversity in the femicide phenomenon across social groups. Femicide’s frequency and sociodemographic characteristics seem to be related to cultural dimensions pertaining to individualistic versus collectivistic cultures, with social factors such as level of education, socioeconomic status, and immigration possible overriding the effects of cultural dimensions on femicide. Highlighting sociocultural criminal diversity, the article’s observations may be of great relevance to societies facing the challenge of assimilating diverse sociocultural groups.