Mothers Who Kill their Children

Mothers Who Kill their Children: Literature Review and Reflections for Social Work Practice

 

Notes on the author

Andrew Davies is a qualified Social Worker. He is currently employed by Frontline as a Practice Tutor. This research was undertaken as an independent researcher.

Abstract

The author worked within a Children`s Services Social Work department at the time of a high-profile case involving the homicide of two children by their mother and father. Drawing on this experience, the article seeks to explore why mothers are involved in killing their children through reviewing the literature around how maternal filicides are classified and any complicating factors before finally considering reflections for Social Work practice. This article concludes that the reasons why a mother kills her child are a complex result of social and psychological factors. Social Workers and other professionals working with children can learn from the specific types of maternal filicides that can occur and also what factors may influence such events taking place.

Keywords

Mothers, maternal filicide, risk assessment, Social Work.  

Introduction

The homicide of any child by their mother is something that is deeply shocking to society. The socially constructed and gendered role of mothers within a patriarchal society is to care and nurture children, to love them unconditionally and to protect them from harm (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).  Sieff (2019) states that the archetype of the ‘Death Mother’ is evoked by women who commit filicide, which evokes such fear and alarm that it is banished to the `shadows of consciousness` (p15).  Society therefore does not know how to respond, leading to the capacity for females to be violent being denied (Motz, 2020).

Whilst males commit the majority of violent offences, women who do commit violent offences are more likely to do this against people they have close relationships with, including their own children (Yakeley, 2010). Cases of filicide involving a mother, however, are rare and the vast majority of mothers pose no risk of harm to their children.    In the U.K. between 2014-17, mothers were responsible for 27 deaths of children compared with 32 deaths caused by fathers and 8 deaths by step-fathers of cases subject to Serious Case Reviews (SCR) (DfE, 2020).   Both parents together were responsible for 13 deaths (DfE, 2020). This was in the context of over 600,000 referrals to Social Care per year between 2014-17 (DfE, 2021), with a referral being defined as a request for a service from Children’s Services who is not currently in need and already accessing Social Work support (DfE, 2021). These referrals are for children and their families who may need support and those who may need protection. This suggests the difficult task professionals have in preventing filicide, given their rarity in the context of the demand for Children’s Services.

In the author’s experience there is a lack of training, research and learning for Social Workers about mothers who both harm and/or kill their children, with the focus often being upon the father or step-father.  It is due to the experience of the author being involved in a case where a mother and father killed their two children that this specific area of practice has been focused upon. As the primary task of Children and Families Social Workers is arguably the protection of children (Finch and Schaub, 2015), this article focuses on reflections for this profession.   Reflections will also be relevant, however, to other agencies working with children as safeguarding children is a multi-agency responsibility in the U.K.

This literature review is structured through first explaining how the literature was searched for and what definitions are used. It then considers the contextual overview from the literature, including statistical information, followed by types of maternal filicides before a discussion of complicating factors.   Finally, the overall research is discussed before reflections are highlighted for Social Work practice and other agencies working with children.

Literature Search Strategy

The literature search was completed via Google Scholar using a mixture of journal articles and books. The following search terms were used to find research: `mothers kill children`, `mother neonaticide`, `mother infanticide` and `mother filicide`.  The majority of articles and books found were written by professionals from Psychiatry, Psychology and Paediatric disciplines.  Therefore the themes found in this literature review will be influenced by the knowledge base of these professions, which may limit the understanding of maternal filicide from alternative perspectives.  Limited research has been undertaken from a criminological or sociological viewpoint in relation to maternal filicide (Shelton, Hoffer and Muirhead, 2015).

Articles were also searched for internationally to consider themes across different countries. `Backwards citation searching` was then used by looking at the references section of all articles and books to find further research.

For the purpose of this review, the following definitions are used:

• neonaticide is used to refer to the homicide of a child in the first 24 hours of life.
• infanticide is used to refer to the homicide of a child in their first year of life.  
• filicide is used to refer to the homicide of any child from birth onwards (therefore including both neonaticide and infanticide).
• homicide is used to refer to the killing of a child unlawfully either intentionally or unintentionally.

Contextual Overview

The homicide of children from birth onwards is a feature of all civilisations (Oberman, 2003).  Infanticide has been used historically to control population numbers, due to illegitimacy or eugenics (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).  Factors found to influence maternal filicide include individual psychological factors, societal factors such as: overpopulation, poverty, the status of females in society, inheritance laws, children born out of wedlock and hormonal changes following birth (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).

In most societies today maternal filicide is evident, but determining an accurate understanding of numbers is problematic (Stockl et al, 2017).  Not all countries record information on maternal filicide. In addition, the true rate of maternal filicide is difficult to determine because of the hidden nature of neonaticide and whether deaths classified by Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) were in fact filicide (Motz, 2014).

It is a consistent theme across studies that children under one are at most risk of homicide out of any age group in the UK and USA (Motz, 2014). A study in England, Scotland and Wales found children under one are four times more likely to be killed than any other age group with the first day of life being most risky (Flynn, Shaw and Abel, 2013).  This remains consistent in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales (ONS, 2021).

A review of the filicides by Stockl et al (2017), which looked at 126 studies in 44 countries, found that of the 33 studies which separated the gender of the perpetrator, that mothers committed 55.7% of all child filicides.  In the case of infanticide, the same study found mothers committed the majority of these crimes (71.7% of all infanticides in the 12 studies that separated out this data).  In relation to neonaticides, Stockl et al (2017) found them almost always to be committed by mothers.  This could be explained by the fact that mothers are invariably the primary carers for young children post-birth.

In a study by Putkonen et al (2009) of filicides in Austria and Finland between 1995 – 2005 mothers were the perpetrators in the majority of cases (52% in Finland and 72% in Austria).  Mariano, Choon and Myers (2014), who studied filicide cases over 32 years in the USA, found that mothers were just as likely to kill their children as fathers in the first year of life, with fathers thereafter being more likely. In a review of 297 filicides in England and Wales between 1997 – 2006, mothers were held legally responsible in 102 cases, compared with fathers in 195 cases (Flynn, Shaw and Abel, 2013).

The consistent theme across current research is that mothers kill more children under the age of one than fathers or step-fathers.  Overall, there are differing statistics about whether mothers are more likely to kill their children than fathers across childhood. Mothers are thought more likely to kill their children than step-fathers.

Categories of Maternal Filicide

Several authors have tried to develop categories of maternal filicides. These are often subjective, however, based on small sample cases and are not always comparable across studies or countries.

Davies (2008) notes the most common categories across all systems are:

• Neonaticide.
• Mentally ill mothers – child killed due to mother’s mental illness.
• Physical abuse related filicide - an incident of physical abuse which killed the child.

Other categories include:

• Purposeful Filicide – a mother acting alone who purposefully and intentionally kills her child (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).
• Filicide due to neglect - where the neglect of the child by the mother led to their death either through omission or commission. (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).
• Assisted or coerced filicide - mothers who actively kill their children with their partners, or passively through the perceived failure to protect their children. (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).
• Retaliatory – filicide with revenge towards a partner or ex-partner as the primary motive (Porter and Gavin, 2010).
• Altruistic – parental desire to relieve the perceived suffering of the child including a subcategory of `mercy killing` where a parent kills a child with a severe or debilitating illness (Kauppi et al, 2010).

The Child Safeguarding Review Practice Panel (2021) uses categories to distinguish types of child deaths and/or harm experienced by children in England that lead to a Child Safeguarding Practice Review (the replacement for Serious Case Reviews). These categories do not distinguish statistically, however, between cases of maternal and paternal filicide and include all types of child deaths and harm.  Given the focus of this article is on maternal filicide these categories have therefore not been included.

The research underpinning the different categories will now be summarised.  Due to the mental illness of mothers being present across categories, this is included in the discussion of complicating factors instead.

Neonaticide

The act of neonaticide is distinct from other filicides because this crime is almost always committed by mothers when the perpetrator can be identified. A 1990 study found 64% of new-borns killed by neonaticide were found by accident and the parents could not be found (Crittenden & Craig, 1990, cited in Porter and Gavin, 2010).   It is therefore often a hidden crime and difficult to determine its prevalence.

There is no clear correlation between diagnosed mental illness and neonaticide from studies undertaken (de Wijs-Heijlaerts and Verheugt, 2012). Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick (2005), who reviewed 39 studies on child homicide, found mothers in this category were mostly unmarried, aged in their late teenage years, often residing with parents or relatives and denying or concealing their pregnancies. The pregnancy is denied out of a fear that others will not accept the fact that the mother is pregnant (de Wijs-Heijlaerts and Verheugt, 2012).  Mothers fear the loss of the social support network, or being shamed if they reveal they are pregnant (Oberman, 2003). The denial can lead to mothers no longer being conscious of being pregnant and lead to dissociation at birth (de Wijs-Heijlaerts and Verheugt, 2012).  Cohen (2001) notes the paradox of denial in that one is both conscious and not conscious at the same time.  Some awareness of pregnancy possibly develops, but the mind turns a blind eye to it, so no relationship with the baby develops. One mother said in relation to killing her three children after birth, `I was conscious of being pregnant, but not of being pregnant with babies… no relationship with the babies developed`. (The Guardian, 2009).

Physical abuse-related filicide

This category of filicide is where an incident of physical abuse led to the child being killed. This is often an impulsive act of a mother who has lost control emotionally and who may see her child as threatening her  authority.  The mother is not, though, intending to kill her child.   Meyer and Oberman (2001) found that most of these mothers had previously hurt their children physically.  Poverty, social isolation, alcohol and/or other drug use, issues in interpersonal relationships and past experiences of abuse are common themes in this category of filicide (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).

In physical abuse-related filicide, as well as neglect-related filicide, studies have found that mothers are often parenting alone, with young children who have high levels of need and with limited social support, which influences what happens (Davies, 2008).   Smithey (2001) found in interviewing 14 mothers who fatally injured their children, that the child’s crying, difficulty in training (toileting and weaning) and illness led to the mother assaulting the child.

Filicide due to neglect

This category includes neglect-related deaths that are caused by omission or commission (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).   Omission cases are when a mother fails to attend to the needs of the child, for example leaving a child unattended in the bath. In the majority of these cases studied by Oberman (2003) the mother was a lone parent and there was an absence of the father or any other support.   In commission cases the mother reacted to the child’s behaviour to try to quieten them e.g. shaking the child, causing the death.  Often these mothers were young, single, with a limited support network, had limited education and may have used alcohol or other drugs (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).

Purposeful filicide (Mother acting alone)

In Meyer and Oberman’s (2001) study in the USA of 219 cases of maternal filicide the majority fell into this category (79 cases).  Oberman (2003) notes this category is often linked to a mother’s mental illness, social isolation and the fact she is parenting alone without support.  Meyer and Oberman’s study (2001) also found a correlation in this category with threats of suicide, attempts of suicide or mothers committing suicide, in addition to the filicide.

The category of purposeful filicide is distinct because the mother meant to kill her child.  It is different from neonaticide because of the fact these mothers do not deny the existence of their children and sometimes kill multiple children (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).

Although there is a possible link with the mental illness of the mother in this category, Meyer and Oberman (2001) note the difficulty of establishing a significant mental illness at the time of the filicide.  Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick (2005), however, found that purposeful homicides in the USA were often linked to a mother’s mental health through psychosis and/or depression. Meyer and Oberman (2001) note that the mothers in this category in their study were often seen by others as loving and devoted mothers with no prior history of abuse or neglect.

Assisted or Coerced Maternal Abuse (including presence of domestic abuse)

The category of assisted or coerced maternal abuse is taken from Meyer and Oberman’s (2001) study of filicide cases in the USA.  Out of a total of 219 cases of maternal filicide only 12 came under this category. This can either be active, where the mother kills the child, with the partner or passive, where the mother is convicted of failing to protect her child (Meyer and Oberman, 2001).

The passive category is perhaps controversial. There are cases where there is limited evidence the mother was directly involved in the filicide, but is convicted of failing to protect her child (Evening Standard, 2021).  This suggests that the social construction of motherhood in that mothers are seen in society as being responsible for the safety of children, including whether their partner is safe to be around children, influences who is held responsible. In contrast, fathers are rarely charged with failing to protect their children from their mothers.  Mothers are blamed for not leaving violent relationships when often they have been the victims themselves of these abusive relationships.   It is therefore important that this category does not reinforce existing gender stereotypes.

Motz (2014) highlights that sometimes these relationships have an addictive and compulsive quality that can involve both partners participating in the destructive nature of the relationship.  Motz argues this is driven by both adults` `disturbed attachment systems` (2014, p2), stemming from earlier childhood experiences where trauma is unconsciously repeated in the adult relationship. There is often no clear victim or perpetrator and a moral code can be formed where violence towards each other and any children can become condoned (Motz, 2014).   Motz (2014) highlights the case of Mick and Mairead Philpott as an example who were convicted of manslaughter for killing their six children in a house fire.

Retaliatory/Spousal revenge

In this category the child is killed in the context of revenge against a spouse or partner due to envy or jealousy. The child is seen as an extension of the other person and revenge is sought through harming the child.

In a review of 200 filicides in Finland, Kauppi et al (2010) found only one case of maternal filicide where spousal revenge was evident.   The Centre for Suicide Prevention (2009) found a limited number of these cases in their review of the literature (between 4-15% of cases, depending on the study).

Altruistic Motives

Altruistic filicide can be defined as `the motive of relieving the child of real or, most often, imaginary suffering and usually involves suicide by the parent` (Kauppi et al, 2010 p229).   Mercy killings are often included in this typology because it also involves alleviating the perceived suffering of the child. Kauppi et al (2010) found in their review of filicide cases in Finland that most mothers killed for altruistic reasons often in combination with depression or psychosis and these mothers were often older, better educated and, more often than not, employed.

Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick (2005) found a correlation between mothers who committed suicide and also who killed their children, with a significant number of these cases being for altruistic reasons (90% of maternal suicide-filicides).

Complicating Factors

It is important to note that the reasons for every case of maternal filicide will be unique and no one factor can explain why a mother might kill her child.  Adshead and Horne (2021, p105) use the bicycle lock model to explain that in an incident of violence there will be a final number specific to each case that causes the violence to be unlocked.

Poverty was one of the main reasons for filicide historically and is a consistent theme in the literature today (Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick, 2005).  Poverty remains a significant issue in the U.K. today, with increasing numbers of children living in poverty (JRF, 2021).  Most people in poverty do not kill their children, but the added stress of parenting under difficult social conditions and without adequate resources is a feature of many filicide cases.  Meyer and Oberman (2001) found that in maternal filicide cases relating to neglect, poverty was a feature in 90% of the cases and was also evident across other cases.

Extreme poverty is also known to impact negatively on the mental health of people (Filer, 2019).  Mental illness is also frequently cited in the literature as a factor in maternal filicide (Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick, 2005). The research shows that psychosis (post-partum psychosis or psychosis) can be a factor in maternal filicide, as can a major depressive illness and also personality disorder (Kauppi et al, 2010; Friedman, and Resnick, 2007; Davies, 2008). Suicidal history is also evident in maternal filicide cases (Shelton, Hoffer and Muirhead, 2015).  It is also important, however, to note that most people who are mentally ill are not violent (Yakeley, 2010).

In a review of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) by the Department for Education (DfE, 2020) the largest single factor prevalent in all of these was the mother’s mental health (47% of all SCRs, p53).  Motherhood and the impact on mental health are arguably entwined.  In the U.K. half of mothers develop a new mental health issue pre- or post-birth; post-natal depression affects 10-15% of mothers and suicide is the leading cause of death for mothers in the first year of their children`s lives (Glaser, 2021).

Jennings et al (1999, cited in Flynn, Shaw and Abel, 2013) found that in women with post-partum depression, 41% expressed violent thoughts about their children.   Shelton, Hoffer and Muirhead (2015) found that in 19% of the 213 cases of maternal filicide examined the mother had expressed to someone else thoughts of harming her child prior to the filicide taking place.   Kleiman et al (2021), however, argue that experiencing `scary thoughts`, including excessive worry, rumination, obsessive thoughts, intrusive memories and a misinterpretation of bodily sensations are a normal part of being a mother.  Collardeau et al (2019) note in their research that nearly half of all mothers had thoughts of harming their infants on purpose and in their limited sample size this did not predict harmful behaviours towards the infants.

There are often difficulties in determining the extent to which a mother was mentally ill at the time of a filicide, particularly in those cases where a mother also killed herself (Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick, 2005). The literature also focuses primarily on mental illness rather than more broadly upon mental health.   This might be due to the research being conducted mainly by Psychiatrists and Psychologists.  Diagnosis continues to be an area of debate within the mental health profession and the reliance upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in order to categorise mental illness (Filer, 2019).   Studies demonstrate that Psychiatrists are not always consistent in the diagnosis of mental illness (Filer, 2019), which does question the reliability and emphasis placed on diagnosis in the literature.   Perhaps a broader consideration of the mental health of a mother should be considered instead, with the focus on preventive services.  

Mental health can also be linked with the experience of past abuse and trauma and whilst not all mentally ill people have experienced past trauma, many have (Filer, 2019).  Meyer and Oberman (2001) and McKee (2006) note that there is evidence to indicate that the majority of parents who are abusive have experienced past abuse in childhood. Davies (2008) and Kauppi et al (2010) found this evident in the majority of maternal filicides.

Marchiano (2021) suggests that becoming a mother forces mothers to confront those parts of their past experiences which may have been repressed and not integrated and as their children reach developmental milestones this can re-awaken a mother’s past trauma.    Welldon (2018) states that it is the maternal attachment relationships (often over three generations) that are crucial in understanding the psychology of women who are violent to themselves and/or their children.   Due to negative early attachment experiences, a mother may feel `unwanted, undesired, ignored or an unidentifiable part of her parents` lives (usually her mother’s)` (Welldon, 2018, p9).   Welldon (2018) suggests that this creates an intense hatred of their own mothers which leads to these intense feelings of hatred and revenge being taken out on their own bodies or on the extension of their bodies, their children.   Oberman and Meyer (2008) conducted interviews with 40 mothers convicted of killing their child(ren) and one of the consistent themes found was the complex relationship these mothers had with their own mothers, which was often characterised by abandonment or abuse. This is not to negate the role of the mother’s father who, in the same study, were found to either be absent or violent to the majority of the mothers. The intergenerational impact of abuse and trauma therefore appears to be a feature in many cases of maternal filicide.

Alcohol and other drugs can be used to manage the feelings associated with past abuse and trauma and both are also found as factors in maternal filicide. In a study of 55 filicidal mothers Lewis and Bunce (2003) found that, at the time of the filicide, alcohol and/or other drug was present in a quarter of cases and Shelton, Hoffer and Muirhead (2015) found a history of alcohol and/or other drug use in 41% of 213 maternal filicide cases.

Domestic abuse and issues such as separation or parental conflict are a feature of adult relationships either historically or currently in many cases of maternal filicide (Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick, 2005; Kauppi et al, 2010). Domestic abuse may also impact on a mother’s mental health and social support system as it may lead to the mother being isolated through the control and abuse of the partner. Social isolation is noted as a factor in maternal filicide in most studies (Meyer and Oberman (2001), Lewis and Bunce (2003), Friedman, Horwitz and Resnick (2005) and Kauppi et al (2010)). Spieff (2019) notes that mothers with better support networks develop better bonds with their children and are more nurturing, attentive and committed to them; and it is therefore an important factor in mothers successfully raising children.  Oberman and Meyer (2008) found that for those mothers who committed maternal filicide who had some family and social relationships, these were often characterised by abuse and violence, meaning that in reality they had no-one they could rely on for support.

Previous contact with Children’s Services is also a theme in some studies.   Shelton, Hoffer and Muirhead (2015) found in a sample of 213 maternal filicide cases in the USA that 34% had a history of past involvement with Child Protection Services.

The ethnicity of mothers who commit filicide or the ethnicity of their children has been given limited attention in the research evidence due to ethnicity not being consistently recorded in maternal filicide cases across countries.  In England, Sidebottom and Retzer (2019) found that in cases of maternal filicide between 2011-2014 the children killed were more likely to be of Black and Minority Ethnic origin, albeit in a limited sample size (47% of 19 cases).  The ethnicity of the parent and/or child, however, remains a gap in the available research evidence.

There are also a number of other different psycho-social factors that could be important considerations in individual cases of maternal filicide, such as: mother’s low intelligence, poor impulse control, limited educational achievements, housing and access to social resources, unemployment and the impact of dealing with multiple children as a single parent without adequate support (McKee, 2006).

Discussion

The literature highlights that whilst maternal filicide is rare, it is caused by a complex combination of societal, psychological and relationship-based factors.  Although understanding the different categories of maternal filicides can be helpful, their application to cases is subjective and difficult to apply consistently. There are also significant limitations to the research presented due to the limited number of studies from different countries, sample sizes, consistency of research and reliability of the data.

Meyer and Oberman note that:

“Infanticide is not a random, unpredictable crime. Instead, it is deeply embedded in and is a reflection of the societies on which it occurs. The crime of infanticide is committed by mothers who cannot parent their child under the circumstances dictated by their unique position in place and time” (2001, p2).

In cases of maternal filicide mothers are often parenting in poverty, with limited support networks and with experiences of childhood trauma which in turn impact on their mental health. This could lead to alcohol and/or other drug use or forming relationships with abusive and/or dangerous partners. Attributing weight to what factor was more prevalent in which case is inherently problematic for any research to determine effectively.

The social situation of mothers is a consistent theme in the literature. Poverty, social isolation, a lack of effective support services, affordable childcare and housing issues can all be factors increasing stress upon them.  In addition, gender-assigned parenting roles and the social construction of motherhood compound these issues, leaving mothers forming the majority of single parent families in the U.K. (90%, Gingerbread, 2022).

The impact of extreme poverty and inequality upon the mental health of mothers is arguably linked. This suggests that taking a public health approach to tackling inequality and poverty may benefit many mothers, improve their mental health and reduce the potential for filicides taking place.   In addition, there is often limited space for alternative messages on mothering to be heard (Glaser, 2021).  It is rare to see mothers being depicted in the media as struggling to parent or bond with their children.   As such, when a mother struggles to live up to the societal norms of what is expected of mothers it creates internal conflict, stress and anxiety.

The socially constructed view of mothers being caring and nurturing also limits professionals from seeing mothers as having the capacity for violence and thus limits training, learning and research being undertaken. This arguably reinforces a societal gender bias, with men being seen as violent and women as passive victims (Adshead and Horne, 2021).  Society does not want to think about a mother’s capacity to kill her children as it challenges patriarchal structures; so often the response is to split mothers into being `bad` or `mad` (Motz, 2020). 

Gendered notions of violence being committed solely by men can be seen in the Triennial Review of SCRs between 2014 – 2017 (DfE, 2020) as there is no section relating to maternal filicide, but there is a specific section on fathers and male partners (Section 3.4.2.).  The recent review into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, who were both killed by their step-mothers, notes that `the perception of women as unlikely perpetrators of harm to children` could have been a factor in both cases (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2022, p90).  Whilst step-mothers may have different relationships to children in comparison with their mothers, this does suggest that gendered notions of violence may impact on how risk is assessed by Social Workers.

Motz (2020) argues that in order to understand female violence, we also need to understand the impact of past trauma upon mothers, which is often hidden. Many mothers who commit filicide will have experienced significant past trauma and the birth of their children can reawaken these wounds, creating complex psychological responses to their children.   Children can take on specific meanings psychologically, which can lead to one child rather than the another being killed (Reder, Duncan and Gray, 1993).  This can sometimes be related to the difficult relationships these mothers had with their own mothers (Oberman and Meyer, 2008), but also could be related to the impact of abuse from their own fathers and others in childhood and/or as adults.   In addition, the impact of abusive relationships with the fathers of their children or their partners add to the specific psychological meaning children are given. This may then lead to one child within the house becoming the target for abuse, acting as a `poison container` for adults to `project disowned parts of their psyches, so they can control these feelings in another body without danger to themselves` (deMause, p1, 1998).  

In the case of neonaticide these mothers are often living in extreme positions where to acknowledge their pregnancies would result in shame or rejection by their families and support networks so they deny the existence of the pregnancies. Tragically, these mothers will often give birth to their children alone before killing them either passively or actively. Their prevalence is therefore extremely difficult to determine and prevention, given their hidden nature, almost impossible.

Conclusion – Reflections for Social Work Practice

This research has shown that maternal filicide is a complex crime with many intertwined factors and it cannot be easily predicted. This needs to be understood nationally in order for a more realistic understanding of the complexity of safeguarding children from filicide to be developed. Without this there is a danger that a perception will develop that filicide is always preventable and in cases where children are known to Children’s Services that the actions of an individual social worker should have prevented the incident taking place. This may lead to people not training to be Social Workers or experienced Social Workers leaving the profession, which ultimately further weakens the effectiveness of services to prevent harm to children.

In a review of Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2021), 62% of children killed were previously known to Children’s Social Care.  Thirty-eight per cent of children, however, were not and this indicates the importance of all agencies being aware of the learning from this article. Whilst improved multi-agency working could strengthen the protection of children nationally, the literature demonstrates that there are deep-rooted issues within society that lead to maternal filicide. Considering child protection from a public health approach through tackling inequality, social isolation and poverty (Featherstone, White and Morris, 2014) and ensuring mothers are given access to appropriate mental health support would arguably be effective ways to reduce harm generally to children.     

Whilst this needs a national response and investment in the right support and services, Children’s Services and partner agencies should support families through tackling poverty, housing issues and increasing the social support a mother has to reduce social isolation and provide services to address this where necessary.

Social Workers and professionals working with mothers need a more specialist understanding around a mother’s mental health and the impact specifically of this on parenting younger children, as young children are at higher risk of maternal filicide.  Children and Family Social Work departments should establish better links to midwifery and health visiting services as well as Perinatal Mental Health Teams and Adult Mental Health Teams and consider developing Parent Infant Mental Health Attachment Teams.

All professionals working with mothers should also be curious about the mother’s past experience of being parented and any previous trauma when undertaking assessments. This research has highlighted the potential impact upon mothers of the parenting they received from their own mothers which professionals should be aware of.  In addition, the meaning of different children to parents psychologically should be considered when assessing family dynamics.

Importantly, this research has highlighted that across all studies mothers are more likely to kill their children than step-fathers.  There remains an emphasis on the risk posed by step-fathers (and fathers) in practice and training, which arguably reflects the biased and gendered view of violence across society.  Maternal filicide is not given enough emphasis in the past DfE review of SCRs (2020) and in a subsequent report by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (2021); male and female perpetrators of filicide are not separated statistically. There is also no specific advice available for professionals in relation to maternal filicide. The potential impact of this on practice could be professionals struggling to consider the risks posed by mothers to their children.

Whilst further training could address some of these issues there remains the impact of austerity and financial constraints that have also hampered the effectiveness of Social Work services (CPAG, 2020) and universal services to support families. Reduced caseloads, better and broader access to early intervention services would arguably enable Social Workers to have the time needed to complete more thorough and curious assessments.

Finally, in order to understand maternal filicide more there needs to be further comprehensive research. Although the categories of filicide may be useful to understand different types of filicides, it is difficult to categorise such a complex crime. The assisted or coerced category could potentially lead to victim-blaming of mothers in abusive relationships. The recent Star Hobson case (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2022) where the mother was convicted of causing or allowing the death of her child in the context of domestic abuse with her female partner, highlights the complex dynamics underpinning these relationships. Further research in this area with more specific advice and training for professionals would be beneficial. In addition, larger studies in the U.K., drawing on multiple sources of information and individual case studies, would support a better understanding of maternal filicide. This could also consider more broadly the specific reasons why mothers harm their children. In relation to neonaticides there needs to be further research in the U.K. to understand its prevalence and, in addition, the concealment or denial of a pregnancy should lead to a referral into Social Work services.

Maternal filicide is a complex phenomenon and prevention equally as complex.   Social Workers and other agencies in this area could learn from this literature review.   Social Workers and their multi-agency partners,   alone, however, cannot prevent all filicides from happening.  It is a problem that requires a multi-faceted societal and political response.

References:

Adshead, G and Horne, E. (2021). The Devil You Know – Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion. London, Faber & Faber Limited.

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A version of this article first appeared in Practice: Social Work in Action, published on 20^th June 2022 in volume 34 2022, issue-5, by Taylor & Francis.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09503153.2022.2090535.