12 July,2011 06:48 AM IST | | Aviva Dharmaraj
Why do more women than men kill their children? Why are there fewer female than male serial killers? Active! asks the experts about the role socialisation plays in shaping ways in which men and women act on aggression and express violence
On July 17, 2011, Casey Marie Anthony is expected to walk out a free woman after a jury acquitted her of charges of first degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and aggravated child abuse, last week. The child was Casey's daughter, Caylee, who was less than two months shy of her third birthday when she was reported missing, in 2008, by her grandmother. Caylee didn't live to see her third birthday.
The verdict has met with outrage, and has prompted comparison to the OJ Simpson murder case.
Marie Anthony has maintained her innocence throughout the duration of the trial, but if the 25-year-old were found guilty it would not be the first time a woman had killed her own child.
"The levels of aggression in men and women are different. While men are more aggressive than women, when women turn violent, it tends to be the result of pent-up aggression. On the other hand, male serial killers, for instance, tend to be consistently aggressive over a period of time," explains psychiatrist Armaan Pandey, Avishkar Psychiatric Clinic.
Stereotypes reign
While genes play a role in determining an individual's propensity to violence, socialisation is another key factor.
"Stereotypical roles are still prevalent. Women continue to be 'subdued' and 'submissive', as part of the social stereotyping of how they should be. But when they are pushed over the edge then all that pent-up rage and aggression comes to the fore," says psychiatrist Varkha Chulani.
The reason more women turn violent with their children also has to do with proximity, believes Dr Pandey. "Women are more in contact with the children, as they are more likely to be at home. So, when a woman turns violent, the recipient of that violence is most likely to be the child."
Wired differently
While gender ratios in the workplace are changing with an increasing number of women choosing to work outside the home, Dr Pandey says that evolution or biology still dictates the ways in which men and women deal with aggression.
"Historically, men were the hunters, whereas women were the ones who stayed back to look after the home. A woman is therefore more likely to act out her aggression when she goes home: a place where she feels secure, whereas a man is more likely to yell at a subordinate if he gets angry in the workplace," he says.
Dr Chulani agrees, "At the end of the day, we are all social animals. Women get caught in the image that not they, but society has created for them."
In cold blood
In the Govind Nagar locality of Mumbai, Nidhi Gupta, a 30-year-old woman committed suicide on March 8 of this year by jumping from the 19th floor of her building after throwing her two children. Gupta left a suicide note stating that no one should be held responsible for her death.
Dora Luz Durenrostro killed her two daughters and her son in San Jacinto, California, 1994. Her daughters were aged four and nine, and her son was aged 8. She was 34 years old.
Michelle Sue Tharp was 29 years old in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania when she killed her daughter. Her daughter was seven years old.
Frances Elaine Newton was 21 when she murdered her husband, 7-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter in Houston, Texas. She was executed on September 14, 2005.
Who is casey Marie Anthony?
Casey Anthony is a 25-year-old American who was charged with the murder of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, in 2008. She was recently acquitted by a 12-member jury, who found her not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and child abuse. She was, however, found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. On July 7, she was sentenced to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines for each count. Caylee'su00a0 remains were discovered on December 11, 2008, almost five months after she was reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony. Casey has maintained her innocence throughout.
ufffd compiled by Sharin Bhatti (sharin.bhatti@mid-day.com)
