A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Canadian and Korean Sexual Homicide. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sea, Jonghan; Beauregard, Eric; Martineau, Melissa
• Other Names: Beauregard Eric guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology. Volume 63:Number 9(2019)
• Page Start: 1538
• Page End: 1556
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: sexual homicide -- nonsexual homicide -- demographic variables -- crime scene behaviors; Criminals -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Criminal psychology -- Periodicals; Violent offenders -- Periodicals; Sex offenders -- Periodicals; Criminology -- Periodicals; 364.3
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19834408
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-624X

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.