A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Canadian and Korean Sexual Homicide

Abstract

Sexual homicide is a crime of rare occurrence. However, crime severity surveys ranked this form of sexual violence as the second most serious crime. Despite an increase in recent years in the publication of empirical studies on sexual homicide, most of these studies originate from Western countries. Therefore, to our knowledge, no studies to date have tested whether the country where sexual homicides are committed influences the way these crimes are executed by the offenders. The current study attempts to shed additional light on the sexual homicide offender (SHO) by comparing Korean and Canadian SHOs as well as comparing both groups of SHOs with a group of nonsexual homicide offenders (NSHOs). Findings suggest that both Korean and Canadian sexual homicide cases present not only similar patterns but also some specific differences, mainly related to their criminal history, the offender’s age, forensic awareness, and some modus operandi characteristics such as the type of violence and the use of a weapon. Findings are discussed in light of cultural differences between the two countries.

Sexual Homicide in France and Canada: An International Comparison

“…Therefore, it is possible that the availability of space for Canadian SHOs influenced their decision to dump the victim's body outdoor, whereas for French SHOs, maybe this alternative is not as convenient. Sea et al (2019) have noticed a similar pattern with Korean SHOs who also were more likely to dismember the victim's body.…”

“…At the time of offence, French and Canadian victims were 31 and 27.9 years old, respectively . Whereas Korean victims were much older than Canadians with an average age of 43.53 years (Sea et al, 2019). In the study by , only a few significant differences in victim characteristics were observed.…”

“…However, Sea et al (2019) also showed that both Korean and Canadian SHOs had previous criminal convictions but the number of such prior convictions was greater for Canadian SHOs compared to Korean SHOs. SHOs convictions were more often related to sex offences among the Canadian sample, whereas violent offences convictions were more prevalent among the Korean sample (Sea et al, 2019). In their study, Sea et al (2019) suggested that many of the differences found between the two samples were due to cultural specificities between Korea and Canada.…”

“…Finally, findings of this study showed that Korean SHOs were more forensically aware for each category tested (i.e., removing or destroying evidence, protecting offender's identity, disposing of victim's body) than Canadian SHOs. Sea et al (2019) suggested that Korean SHOs may involve a greater level of criminal sophistication than Canadian SHs.…”

The consistency of sexual homicide characteristics and typologies across countries: a comparison of Canadian and Scottish sexual homicides

“…While there were some bivariate differences, for instance in regards to the use of restraints and the destruction of evidence, the two samples overall displayed stark similarities. Similarly, Sea, Beauregard, and Martineau (2019) compared Canadian and North Korean sexual homicide, demonstrating an overall similarity between countries, despite bivariate differences such as forensic awareness, type of weapon used and age of offender. However, no multivariate or typological analyses were undertaken in either study, highlighting the need for more sophisticated methodology in comparative research.…”