Intimate Partner Homicide in Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Populations of Canadian Women
In 2015, the rate of Canadian women charged with homicide was 31 times higher for Aboriginals than for non-Aboriginals, a number which is reflected in the killing of an intimate partner. In a recent study, our Canadian sample of women who had killed a male partner consisted of 55% Aboriginals. This overrepresentation leads us to question whether Aboriginal women, in their rapport to intimate partner homicide, are different from non-Aboriginal women. Our analyses are based on Parole Board decisional documents and on transcriptions of hearings before the Parole Board. These analyses examine quantitative and qualitative data. They show that, on a number of aspects, these women cannot be differentiated according to ethnicity; they reveal that, when ethnicity does come into play, it does so in that it highlights the marginality of Aboriginal life, especially in the context of Reserves.