WRRC Bibliography: “Family Killing Fields: Honour Rationales in the Murder of Women”

The authors argue that cultural and personal systems of honour that depend on the behaviour of others are an integral part of the killing of women by their families or intimates. Comparing patterns of conduct in both traditional cultures and English-speaking countries, this study focuses on the basic element of such honour rationales – control, feelings of shame, and levels of community involvement – to establish that such rationales are a worldwide phenomenon. An appreciation of such honour systems adds an additional theoretical dimension both for understanding the incidence of male intimate violence in English-speaking countries and for cross-cultural comparisons. Furthermore, it contributes to the current need for a theoretical framework that accounts for cultural and contextual patters of male intimate violence.