A socio-legal deconstruction of homicide victims and perpetrators: Israeli femicide case law

Ethnocultural Diversity in Homicide Crime Scene Staging

“…Such characteristics of Jewish HCSS are exemplified in Siboni’s case (Criminal Action [Jerusalem] 3002/00 The State of Israel v. Siboni), involving the staging of an accidental firearm death. This case demonstrates that similar to femicide, the killing of the female victim was perpetrated by the male intimate partner (Dayan, 2020). The victim–offender relation in this case differed from femicide among Arab groups, which tends to involve extended family members (with a female family member as the victim and the father, brother, or uncle being the offender; Chesler, 2010; Dayan, 2021).…”

“…The victim–offender relation in this case differed from femicide among Arab groups, which tends to involve extended family members (with a female family member as the victim and the father, brother, or uncle being the offender; Chesler, 2010; Dayan, 2021). Also like femicide, the victim in this case was killed due to efforts to separate from an intimate relationship (Dayan, 2020). Such killing motive differs from common femicide motives among Arab communities, which tend to involve allegations of the victim’s social or sexual behavior that breached “family honor” (Chesler, 2010; Dayan, 2021).…”

“…Such characteristics are exemplified in Hasson's case (Criminal Action [Haifa], 2068/05 The State of Israel v. Hasson Saad and others] involving the staging of a suicide. In this Arab HCSS femicide case, rather than the offender being the victim's male intimate partner as common in Western femicide (Dayan, 2020), the offenders were the female victim's father and uncles. Furthermore, and aligned with the phenomenon of femicide in Western societies, the killing in this case was not related to the female victim's wish to separate from her intimate partner (Dayan, 2020).…”

“…In this Arab HCSS femicide case, rather than the offender being the victim's male intimate partner as common in Western femicide (Dayan, 2020), the offenders were the female victim's father and uncles. Furthermore, and aligned with the phenomenon of femicide in Western societies, the killing in this case was not related to the female victim's wish to separate from her intimate partner (Dayan, 2020). Instead, the killing was related to the cultural concept of "family honor," which in Arab groups refers to a concern for the reputation of one's family.…”

Public Opinion on Lethal Violence against Women in Mexico

“…The decisions by judges and prosecutors establish the parameters of behaviors that merit punishment and those that are acceptable. Gender biases in the application of the law reinforce societal gender norms and identities (Dayan, 2020;Smart, 1989). As such, elite cues hold the potential to shape how individuals value and seek to protect the lives of women and men.…”