Is it on the rise or is it being reported more frequently? Are there crime statistics to show there is an increasing number of this type of murder?
How to stop it? I agree with @cazzie that options for women to terminate pregnancies or to put children up for adoption should be made more easily and shamelessly available. @LuckyGuy, I didn’t read @cazzie‘s comment as “not supporting women who can’t afford” children. The majority of mothers, even those with little income, do not murder and are not complicit in their children’s murder. To remove support from underprivileged parents would not alleviate risk to children, it would just create more stress for those who need help and in turn potentially create more risk.
Are women or men more likely to commit infanticide in the case of a non-biological child? I’ve seen a few comments here that appear to blame the women. For instance, she shouldn’t be with a bad man. She shouldn’t be financially supported. While I understand that @msh mentioned women who then cover for the killers, I’d again like to see evidence that this is the norm. I’d also question whether the woman/women were themselves victims of domestic violence. If they were, while it doesn’t excuse supporting their children’s murder, it does provide some explanation of why it might happen. She might be as much of a victim as the children. These are complicated issues and there is no ‘one-answer-fits-all’ solution.
I again agree with @cazzie that more education and support for parents can only help. I also think greater support and less shaming for those in violent relationships would provide an easier exit strategy for women (or men) who find themselves in a violent relationship and can’t see a way out. There also have to be refuges and places women and children who feel at risk can go. Perhaps someone can tell me how available such services are in the US. I know they are very thin on the ground in this country. We’re good at saying ‘women should…’ but not with providing the protection if she does leave. I believe women and children are actually more at risk once they leave such a relationship because the violent party is more likely to take revenge. We have to make sure we provide places of safety if we’re going to insist women leave. Men, and it is mostly men, who are violent towards their partners and children do not start off that way. It can happen to anyone. From the very affluent to the very poor, from the educated to the uneducated.
In the end, if we want to ensure children are taken care of, we have to take care of the parents who are entrusted with their care. That means reliable services that monitor families at risk. Hotlines for people to alert the authorities if they feel a child/children might be at risk. Help such as parenting classes for those who need them. We also have to make sure we’ve provide outlets for those who need help to escape violent partners.
Of equal concern to me is what appears to be an increase in the number of parents who kill their offspring. Whether because they are depressed, or angry at a relationship breakdown, or are facing life stress. There have been a couple of cases in recent years here where the men have been held up as ‘wonderful fathers’ who loved their families. I’m sorry, I don’t rate a man who because he’s depressed, facing financial ruin or for any other reason, takes a shotgun and shoots his children or his wife and children. If someone is depressed and they take their own life, so be it. Don’t take your family with you though.