Centre Director Myrna Dawson presented preliminary findings today in Italy from research she conducted with Danielle Tyson, Susan Zielin, and Anna Johnson titled, “Sentencing in filicide cases: the impact of gender roles on judicial decision-making” at the third Addressing Filicide conference in Prato, just outside Florence, Italy. The Deakin University-University of Guelph research collaboration examines the influence of gender roles on outcomes and sentences in cases of filicide in two jurisdictions. Their study qualitatively examined sentencing transcripts from Ontario, Canada and Victoria, Australia between 2000 and 2012. They discussed variations in how judges discuss maternal and paternal filicide offenders and identify whether differential sentencing of filicide offenders take places in these two jurisdictions. The ongoing research will also identify whether judicial treatment varies based on how well the offender’s behaviour conforms to traditional gender role expectations.
