Te Awatea Review 2(1) August 2004 : 7-10

This article explores the definition of child homicide, and discusses factors pertaining to incidence rates of child homicide nationally and internationally during the period 1991-2000. In the majority of the 91 child homicide cases during this time period, the assailant was known to the victim prior to their death. Child homicide primarily occurs within the family, with the risk of filicide (the deliberate act of a parent killing their child) decreasing as the child ages. The article highlights the links between family involvement with child protection agencies and child homicide. In comparison to other forms of abuse, female perpetrators feature highly in statistics of child homicide offending. The research found that nearly half of the known child homicide cases during this period resulted from battering, and the article concludes that the child at the greatest risk of child homicide during 1991-2000 was Māori, male and less than one year old. Limitations to the research and its findings are discussed in this article.