被指控犯有暴力罪行的妇女可由法院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受审和/或刑事责任的适宜性。这些妇女的形象在南非是一个研究不足的领域。
■这项研究调查了社会人口统计学,与犯罪有关,以及被移交给法医评估的被指控犯有暴力罪行的南非妇女的临床概况。
■英格兰堡医院(FEH),东开普省的法医精神病院.
■系统审查了在24年(1993-2017年)期间由法院转介给FEH进行法医精神病学评估的173名妇女的临床记录。
■大多数女性都是单身,有抚养子女的黑人母亲,他们失业,社会经济贫困。许多人都有犯罪前精神疾病的背景,酒精使用和涉嫌滥用。大多数是初犯,他们知道受害者。大多数儿童受害者是被母亲杀害的亲生儿童。在一半的案例中,暴力的主要动机可能与精神病理学有关,和第三个人际冲突。法医评估最常确认的精神障碍和双重诊断。一半的案件适合接受审判,一半以下的案件负有刑事责任。
■暴力女性冒犯发生在性别背景下,先前的创伤发生率很高,肇事者的酒精使用和心理社会困扰。需要强调对性别问题有敏感认识的心理社会干预措施。
■这项研究强调了在南非进行法医精神病学评估的女性暴力犯罪的性质和背景。
UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: This study examined the socio-demographic, offence-related, and clinical profile of South African women charged with violent offences referred for forensic assessment.
UNASSIGNED: Fort England Hospital (FEH), a forensic psychiatric institution in the Eastern Cape.
UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: 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.
UNASSIGNED: This study highlights the nature and context of violent offending by women referred for forensic psychiatric assessment in South Africa.