Realistic Consideration of Women and Violence is Critical.

Violent offending by women has been on the rise in recent decades. Women perpetrate relationship violence, child physical and sexual abuse, and stalking. They commit approximately half of the cases of filicide, and nearly all neonaticides. Like men, women may be aggressive and have rational though unsavory reasons for horrific offenses. Yet, propensity toward violence is often perceived as a masculine rather than a feminine trait. We have limited language to explain women and crime. An understanding of the intersection of women’s lives and crime is crucial for forensic psychiatrists, because of their roles in evaluations and treatment, and as expert instructors of jury and judge. Forensic psychiatrists cannot be blind to the potential for women to be violent, else they allow violence to continue, underestimate risk, and produce inappropriate courtroom testimony.