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Spousal homicides in contemporary Ghana

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  • Adinkrah, Mensah

Abstract

This study added to the scant extant literature on lethal marital violence in non-Western societies through the analysis of seventy-two spousal killings that were reported in a Ghanaian daily newspaper during 1990-2005. The findings showed that husbands were five times more likely to kill a spouse as were wives and that sexual jealousy and suspicions of infidelity were the most common precipitating factor in uxoricides. Mariticides were fueled by anger towards a husband who planned to take an additional wife, or by an instrumental need to replace a husband with a new lover. Analysis of data further revealed a predominance of poor and working class victims and assailants. The crime often occurred in the common dwelling place of the couple or a jointly-owned farm, or in cases involving separation, in the wife's natal home or farm. A plethora of methods were used to perpetrate the murders, including shooting with a gun, hacking with a cutlass or machete, hitting with a blunt object, and beating with personal weapons.

Suggested Citation

  • Adinkrah, Mensah, 2008. "Spousal homicides in contemporary Ghana," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 209-216, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:36:y:2008:i:3:p:209-216
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amoakohene, Margaret Ivy, 2004. "Violence against women in Ghana: a look at women's perceptions and review of policy and social responses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(11), pages 2373-2385, December.
    2. Adinkrah, Mensah, 2000. "Female-perpetrated spousal homicides The case of Fiji," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 151-161.
    3. Mercy, J.A. & Saltzman, L.E., 1989. "Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 79(5), pages 595-599.
    4. Adinkrah, Mensah, 2005. "Vigilante homicides in contemporary Ghana," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 413-427.
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Alhassan Issahaku, 2017. "Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, June.
    2. Stephen Baffour Adjei, 2018. "The Social Intentionality of Battered Women’s Agency in Ghana," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 30(1), pages 1-18, March.

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