If you or someone you know is struggling with issues related to domestic violence, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 1800 RESPECT for support services.
Brisbane mother Hannah Baxter, and her three young children Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey were recently killed by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter in a horrific car fire.
It is being widely reported that Mr Baxter doused the car containing his wife and children with petrol before setting it alight. Witnesses report that Ms Baxter jumped from the car screaming, “he’s poured petrol on me.”
Sadly, she suffered significant burns and later died at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Mr Baxter reportedly died nearby the scene from a self-inflicted stab wound.
The story of the Brisbane car fire is utterly heartbreaking, but sadly, it’s all too familiar. The idea that a parent could kill their child is unbelievable, let alone the killing of their entire family, commonly referred to as familicide.
According to The Nature and Prevalence of Familicide in the United States from the Journal of Family Violence, ‘Familicide’ refers to “the killing of multiple family members, most commonly the homicide of an intimate partner and at least one child.”
In recent years, the world has been rocked by high profile familicide cases, including the Watts family murders of 2018. Like the Brisbane car fire killing of Hannah Baxter and her children, Shan’ann Watts and her two young daughters Bella and Celeste were brutally murdered by their husband and father, Christoper Watts. Bella and Celeste’s bodies were disposed of in oil tanks, and Shan’ann was buried in a shallow grave at his work site.
Watts plead guilty to the murder of his family and was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole.
While familicide is clearly an issue on an international scale, domestic violence – and specifically, violence against women – is particularly pertinent here in Australia. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, on average, one woman per week is murdered in Australia by a current or former male partner.
The data clearly presents a huge problem, but the question is: what is the solution?
In 2012, the Australian government launched the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, however it has been argued that there has been little improvement in the services available to women, or the reduction of violence.
Perhaps the solution lies deeper, in the fabric of our society. In an interview with the BBC, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said, “We will only be able to eradicate violence against women and their children, when women are not only safe, but respected, valued and treated as equals in private and public life.”
When it comes to familicide, particularly as a result of custody disputes, perhaps it comes down to recognising the ‘risk factors’ early on. In a 2012 interview on Conversations, Assistant Professor Carolyn Harris Johnson – who has done extensive research on familicide – said, “I hope that my research has made people more aware of the risk factors, one of which is a parent – usually a father – with an obsessive, controlling personality, and a history of threats to kill and/or commit suicide.” It’s also important to note that not all familicides are committed at the hands of fathers and husbands.
“My research has also shown that in families where intimates are killed by their partners, childhood trauma is a factor with both perpetrators and victims. The experience of such trauma can affect the way an individual relates to others throughout their lifespan and the way they cope with the breakdown of intimate relationships.”
While it appears Australia still has a long way to go when it comes to stopping these tragic events from occurring, it’s so important to keep the conversation going and emphasise the services that are currently available, including White Ribbon, Lifeline, 1800 RESPECT and more.